Pavel Durov Defends Telegram Compliance, Claims French Police Ignored EU Law

• Pavel Durov has defended Telegram against charges that it broke the law.
• Durov was arrested in France last year for allegedly failing to grant police access to Telegram users’ information.
• However, Durov claims that the police failed to follow the correct legal process to request data.

In a post on his social media channels on Thursday, April 17, Pavel Durov lashed out at his treatment in the French media, which he said erroneously depicted Telegram as not complying with EU rules.

On the contrary, Durov claimed that the French police ignored due process and didn’t follow the rules.

Durov Accuses French Police of Ignoring Legal Process

Last summer, Durov was arrested and accused of complicity in illegal activity that took place on Telegram

However, in his statement, Durov said, “Telegram has always been compliant with EU laws.”

Only after his arrest did the police “finally” request information, “in the legal way described by the EU’s Digital Services Act,” he added.

“As a result, French courts have been able to receive IP addresses of criminal suspects from Telegram.”

Police Cooperation in EU Law

In France and the rest of the EU, authorities that want to access IP addresses and other personal information from messaging apps require a legally valid order from a judicial or administrative authority.

The Digital Services Act, referred to by Durov, works in tandem with national legal frameworks that define the process police must follow to request data.

French authorities allege that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators when required by law. But Durov contests the charge.

Authorities Ignored “Legal Way” To Submit Telegram Requests

Information about the “legal way to reach us” could easily be found on the Telegram website, Durov stated.

“Why the French courts and police had been ignoring this process clearly defined by EU law is still a mystery to us, but it’s unfair to say that Telegram somehow ignored European rules. Paradoxically, it was French law enforcement that, for some reason, had been ignoring them,” he alleged.