The post Telegram CEO Says French Intelligence Asked Him to Ban Romanian Election Channels appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In brief Durov claims French intelligence demanded IP data and bans on political Telegram channels in Romania. France denies meddling, insisting its outreach focused on child safety and anti-terror efforts. The row shows growing concerns over authoritarian state overreach on encrypted platforms. Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of encrypted messaging platform Telegram, confirmed that France’s foreign intelligence service asked him to ban conservative Romanian voices ahead of the May 2025 presidential election, citing terrorism and child safety concerns. He refused. “They met with me—allegedly to fight terrorism and child porn,” Durov wrote on X on Monday. Durov claims the latter subject “was never even mentioned,” adding that the intelligence agency engaged in manipulative tactics, despite having other intentions. “Their main focus was always geopolitics: Romania, Moldova, Ukraine,” Durov claimed.  The Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), France’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly sought IP logs for users tied to political conversations, Durov said. “Falsely implying Telegram did nothing to remove child porn is a manipulation tactic,” he added. Durov’s claims were first made public on Sunday morning, with French officials denying his allegations hours after. “France categorically rejects these allegations and calls on everyone to exercise responsibility and respect for Romanian democracy,” the country’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs stated on X. Decrypt reached out to the ministry for further comment. Telegram’s press office did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comments. Election interference and democracy When French intelligence head Nicolas Lerner approached Durov, the Telegram head claimed he “flatly refused.” “You can’t ‘defend democracy’ by destroying democracy. You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections,” Durov said, exposing the matter on his Telegram channel. The interaction happened sometime in spring at the Salon des Batailles in the Hôtel de Crillon, Durov recalled. The concerns around election interference using…

---

Filed under: News - @ May 21, 2025 9:25 am