Telegram’s founder names French representative he accused of censorship demand
(MENAFN)
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has accused Nicolas Lerner, the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency, of personally requesting that he censor conservative voices on Telegram ahead of Romania’s presidential election rerun. Durov claimed he rejected the appeal.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov has accused Nicolas Lerner, the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency, of personally requesting that he censor conservative voices on Telegram ahead of Romania’s presidential election rerun. Durov claimed he rejected the appeal.
The controversy comes amid broader allegations of foreign interference in Romania’s elections. The country’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the November vote, where independent right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu led with 23%, citing campaign irregularities and alleged Russian involvement—charges Moscow has denied. Georgescu was later barred from running in the rerun.
On Sunday, centrist and pro-EU candidate Nicusor Dan won the presidency, defeating conservative, Euroskeptic rival George Simion. Simion accused both France and Moldova of interfering in the election to undermine his campaign.
In a post on X, Durov claimed he met with Lerner, who leads France’s Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris. The DGSE, which operates under France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces, focuses on intelligence gathering and counterterrorism.
“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,” Durov wrote. “We didn’t block protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran. We won’t start doing it in Europe.”
Durov had previously hinted at pressure from France to silence Romanian conservatives on Telegram. The French Foreign Ministry dismissed the claims as baseless, describing them as a “diversionary maneuver” to distract from genuine threats to Romania’s democracy.
The controversy adds to Durov’s legal troubles in France. Last year, French authorities charged him with enabling the spread of child sexual exploitation material and drug trafficking due to Telegram’s alleged moderation failures. He was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport in August and later released on €5 million bail. Durov, who denies any wrongdoing, was allowed to leave France in March.
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