The Telegram founder will once again be allowed to travel to Dubai for a short period before returning to France, where his case is ongoing. Telegram founder Pavel Durov gained court approval to leave France for up to 14 days to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the company is headquartered. Durov will be allowed to leave France on July 10 after having a travel request denied by French officials in May, according to French news outlet Le Monde. The executive had requested permission to travel to Oslo, Norway, to deliver a keynote address at the Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Freedom Forum, which was presented remotely after French officials rejected his travel application. Read more
According to the Telegram founder, France’s political leaders continue to make poor choices regarding censorship. Telegram founder Pavel Durov warned that France may experience a societal collapse if it continues down its current political trajectory of censorship and regulatory policies during an interview on Wednesday. “Emmanuel Macron isn’t making the right choices. I’m very disappointed. France is getting weaker and weaker,” Durov said in a translated excerpt from an interview with French outlet Le Point. Durov added: When we delay necessary reforms too long, we end up experiencing a collapse,” the Telegram founder continued, warning that France was losing talent to other jurisdictions like Dubai. Read more
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Pavel Durov’s first since being indicted on six charges in 2024, said his company did nothing wrong. Telegram founder Pavel Durov is still trying to figure out why he was detained in France last August, though the motives may have been political and tied to authorities’ efforts to crack down on alleged illicit activity on the messaging platform. That was one of the key takeaways from Durov’s interview with Tucker Carlson, which premiered Tuesday on YouTube. In his first interview since his Aug. 24, 2024, arrest at Bourget Airport outside Paris, Durov said French authorities appeared primarily interested in how Telegram works — “as if it’s some kind of mystery,” he quipped. Read more