Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated on Saturday that he refused a request from French intelligence chief Nicolas Lerner to block Romanian conservative voices on the messaging platform ahead of the country’s presidential runoff election.
Writing on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Durov alleged:
“This spring at the Salon des Batailles in the Hotel de Crillon, Nicolas Lerner, head of French intelligence, asked me to ban conservative voices in Romania ahead of elections. I refused. We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t start doing it in Europe.”
Earlier in the day, Durov had made a general claim that a Western European government had requested Telegram to "silence conservative voices in Romania," but had not initially named the country or official involved.
The statement comes on the same day Romania held its runoff presidential election, a repeat vote following a Constitutional Court decision that annulled the original result of November 24, 2024. The court had halted the process citing concerns over alleged illegal campaign financing by nationalist candidate Calin Georgescu, cybersecurity threats, and unproven claims of Russian interference.
Durov’s public comments are likely to intensify scrutiny around foreign involvement and digital influence in electoral processes across Europe. Telegram has previously faced pressure from multiple governments to moderate content or block opposition voices, particularly in politically sensitive contexts. However, Durov has consistently positioned the platform as a pro-free speech alternative, emphasizing non-cooperation with political censorship.
Neither the French government nor the Romanian authorities have issued an official response to Durov’s allegations as of the time of reporting.
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