Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, has claimed that the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency asked him to ban Romanian conservatives ahead of the country’s elections, a request he says he refused.
Reuters reports that Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, has accused Nicolas Lerner, the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency DGSE, of attempting to interfere in Romania’s recent presidential election. Durov, who is currently under judicial supervision in France and residing at a luxury hotel in Paris, made the startling revelation on Elon Musk’s X.
According to Durov, Lerner approached him at the Salon des Batailles in the Hôtel de Crillon this spring, requesting that he ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of the country’s elections. Durov claims to have refused the request, stating, “We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t start doing it in Europe.”
The allegations come in the wake of Romania’s presidential election, which saw centrist mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, secure a victory over his hard-right, nationalist rival George Simion. Simion had pledged to adopt a path inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump’s politics, raising concerns among EU leaders in Brussels about the potential erosion of unity on the continent in dealing with Russia. Simion became the populist candidate after frontrunner Călin Georgescu was indicted in February.
Both the DGSE and the French foreign ministry have denied Durov’s allegations. The DGSE stated that while its officials had met with Durov on various occasions to remind him of his company’s responsibilities in preventing terrorist and child pornography threats, they “vigorously refute the allegations that requests to ban accounts related to any electoral process were made on these occasions.” The French foreign ministry also denied any interference and called on all parties to “exercise responsibility and respect for Romanian democracy.”
Simion, in response to the allegations, said it was unclear whether they were true, but if Durov had been warned, “Telegram was certainly not the only one approached.” Romania’s president-elect, Dan, condemned Durov’s comments as “unauthorized interference by a social media platform in the electoral process” and “a clear attempt to influence the outcome of the Romanian presidential election.”
Romanian media has highlighted Dan’s relationship with France. According to a translation of an article published by Digi24:
Nicuşor Dan showed, speaking in French, that the ties between France and Romania are even older than that.
“Right now, Europe’s main concern is security and I’m happy that there is this NATO Command in Romania, led by French soldiers. This is the first thing we need to develop, if I win the elections. Apart from that, there are all the economic, cultural and academic exchanges. There are hundreds of thousands of Romanians living in France. As you know, I spent a few years in Paris, a long time ago,” the independent candidate said.
Nicuşor Dan also told the French president that ties between France and Romania must be broadened and strengthened.
The accusations have drawn the attention of U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, who reposted Durov’s claim on X with a simple “Wow.” Musk, along with other powerful figures on the U.S. right, has previously accused European nations of suppressing far-right voices. Musk himself is currently under investigation by French prosecutors over alleged algorithmic bias on X.
France’s arrest of Durov last year sparked a debate about free speech online. As Breitbart News previously reported:
Novaya Gazeta Europe reports that in his first public statement since being detained on August 24, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has hit out at the French authorities’ “misguided approach” in arresting him on charges related to the management of the popular messaging app. Durov was indicted on 12 offenses, including administering a platform that permits illicit financial transactions, failure to provide information to authorities, complicity in the distribution of child pornography, drug trafficking, organized crime, and money laundering.
Writing on his personal Telegram channel, Durov expressed his surprise at learning he could be held responsible for the illegal activities of others on the platform. He argued that the established practice when a country is unhappy with an internet service is to initiate legal action against the service itself, not the CEO. “Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach,” Durov stated.
The Telegram CEO warned that holding innovators personally responsible for potential abuse of their tools would discourage the development of new technologies. He emphasized that while Telegram had experienced “growing pains” due to a rapid increase in users, now totaling 950 million, the app was not an “anarchic paradise.” Durov highlighted the efforts of Telegram moderators, who take down “millions” of harmful posts and channels every day.
Read more at Reuters here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
