French justice continues to put pressure on Telegram's founder. On July 8, Pavel Durov again appeared before investigators at the Paris Judicial Tribunal, where he was interrogated for six hours. This is already the fourth such visit by the entrepreneur since charges were brought against him nearly two years ago.
Recall that Durov was detained at Paris airport on August 24, 2024. A few days later, the court released him on bail of €5 million, imposing strict judicial supervision. The main line of the French investigation is to examine Telegram's role in alleged complicity in criminal activity due to insufficient content moderation and weak cooperation with authorities.
However, as Durov's lawyers claim, throughout the investigation, law enforcement has been unable to provide substantial evidence confirming the validity of the claims. The defense has already filed appeals in both French and European judicial bodies.
Notably, Telegram representatives stated: "The only change since Durov's detention in France is that French authorities have begun to properly draft requests to Telegram." This directly indicates that the entire procedure was initially more demonstrative than legally sound in nature.
Durov himself previously called his arrest a "legal absurdity," emphasizing the complete absence of evidence of his guilt or violations by the platform. As an independent analyst, I see in this case a troubling precedent: an attempt to use criminal justice to pressure a technology company that does not yield to traditional methods of regulation. If the charges are not confirmed, it will be a serious blow to the reputation of French justice in the eyes of the international tech community.