TLDR
- Pavel Durov rejected pressure from a European country to censor political content on Telegram before Romanian elections
- Durov hinted at and later explicitly named France as the country requesting censorship of conservative voices
- Nicusor Dan defeated right-wing nationalist George Simion to become President of Romania
- Durov gained prominence in crypto community following his August 2024 arrest in France
- French officials previously charged Durov with complicity in crimes facilitated through Telegram
Pavel Durov, founder of the social media platform Telegram, has taken a firm stance against political censorship by refusing requests from France to remove conservative political content ahead of the Romanian presidential elections. In a May 18 Telegram post, Durov made his position clear:
“Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels.”
The elections, which took place on May 18, 2025, resulted in Nicusor Dan, a mathematician and liberal mayor of Bucharest, defeating right-wing nationalist opponent George Simion to become the new President of Romania.
In his initial post, Durov did not explicitly name the country requesting censorship but hinted at it with a baguette emoji, clearly pointing to France.
“You can’t ‘defend democracy’ by destroying democracy. You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections,” Durov wrote.
After France claimed the allegations were “completely unfounded,” Durov responded by naming France directly. He revealed he had met with Nicolas Lerner, head of French intelligence, at the Hôtel de Crillon, where Lerner asked him to “ban” conservative political content on Telegram ahead of the Romanian elections.
The Aftermath and French Response
Following Nicusor Dan’s victory, French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron congratulated the new Romanian president on social media. While pledging France’s support, Macron wrote: “Despite numerous attempts at manipulation, Romanians tonight chose democracy, the rule of law, and the European Union.”
Notably, Macron did not deny that attempts to manipulate the election results had existed, which some viewed as an indirect acknowledgment of the situation Durov had described.
Durov emphasized Telegram’s consistent approach to free speech across different regions. He stated that Telegram did not restrict the rights of protestors in Russia, Belarus, or Iran, and “won’t start doing it in Europe.”
The Telegram founder has become a key figure for those who value freedom of expression, privacy, and individual liberty. His stance has earned him particular respect in the cryptocurrency community, which shares many of these values.
This isn’t Durov’s first clash with French authorities. In August 2024, he was arrested in France, sparking widespread condemnation from free speech advocates and the crypto community worldwide.
French prosecutors charged Durov with being complicit in facilitating crimes like child pornography and drug trafficking through Telegram. Many critics viewed the arrest as politically motivated, designed to pressure him into censoring speech on the platform.
At the time, French President Macron denied political motivation behind the arrest while claiming the French government was “committed to freedom of expression and communication.”
The arrest led to immediate backlash. Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble, a free speech video platform, announced his departure from the European Union after France threatened his company. He criticized the French government’s arrest of Durov as an attempt to force censorship.
Durov has maintained that Telegram complies with lawful information requests from law enforcement. He pointed out that the company has a legal representative in France who handles such requests, but French authorities bypassed this process by issuing an arrest warrant.
Following his arrest, Durov was granted €5 million bail and placed under judicial supervision. In March 2025, a French court modified his bail conditions, allowing him several weeks of leave to visit Dubai.
