French Court Slams Door on Pavel Durov’s Oslo Freedom Forum Appearance

Telegram founder Pavel Durov hits a legal roadblock—French authorities just grounded his trip to the Oslo Freedom Forum. No last-minute private jet escapes this time.

Behind the scenes: Durov’s knack for dodging regulators might’ve met its match. The court order doesn’t specify reasons, but let’s just say France isn’t buying his ’digital nomad’ routine.

Finance jab: Meanwhile, crypto bros are still waiting for that Toncoin rally he promised—right after they finish their third leveraged long of the day.

Durov claims pressure to censor political content on Telegram

Telegram’s founder has claimed the French government has pressured the app to censor political content. Durov threw down a gauntlet in mid-May 2025 in a surprising maneuver.

He said French intelligence chief Nicolas Lerner personally instructed him to ban conservative political content ahead of Romania’s upcoming presidential election.

The meeting supposedly occurred at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, a grand luxury palace in the city. He said Lerner had asked him to “mute” voices of Romanian opposition on Telegram.

In a post on Telegram, the tech entrepreneur said that democracy cannot be defended by denying people the right to express their opinions.

The allegations have been denied by France’s DGSE (Directorate-General for External Security), under Lerner’s command. Officials said their discussions with Durov only touched on threats such as terrorism and child abuse material, not political content.

But the assertions set off an uproar online. Public figures, including the tech mogul Elon Musk and the whistle-blower Edward Snowden, rallied to Durov’s defense, saying the episode is part of a broader pattern of Western governments attempting to clamp down on online speech.

Supporters defend free speech amid Durov case

Durov’s supporters say the French charges are calculated for political reasons. They caution that holding platform founders responsible for internet users’ posts could threaten internet freedom.

One digital rights advocate said that if tech executives are going to be jailed every time they refuse to remove content that governments want taken down from social media, then no one is safe.

Others say platforms like Telegram need to do more to remove illegal content and safeguard vulnerable communities.

Durov says Telegram strikes the correct balance. He said that they did not censor protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran and that they WOULD not start doing so in Europe.

Having Durov present, even virtually, is key to conversations around digital rights, according to the Human Rights Foundation.

For now, he remains in France, fighting legal charges and what he claims is Europe’s shift toward political censorship.

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