Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, announced new measures to tackle illicit content and bots following his recent arrest by French authorities for violations related to the messaging app.
Durov first spoke out since his arrest and criticized the charges as “misguided” and “surprising.” He admitted that while Telegram has flaws, the issues stem from a fraction of its 950 million users.
“In a new statement on Telegram, he emphasized, “While 99.999 per cent of Telegram users are uninvolved in criminal activities, the 0.001 per cent that engages in illegal acts tarnish the platform’s reputation, jeopardizing the interests of nearly a billion users.”
He also mentioned removing the “people nearby” feature, which was minimally used and prone to exploitation by bots and scammers. Replacing it, Telegram will introduce “businesses nearby” to feature legitimate, verified businesses.
Additionally, Telegram has suspended new media uploads to Telegraph, its blogging tool, due to misuse by anonymous sources.
After being detained for four days, the 39-year-old was charged with multiple counts of failing to control extremist and illegal content on his platform.
Durov was arrested on August 24 at Le Bourget airport outside Paris and faced questioning over several days. He has since been released on a bail of five million euros, with conditions that include reporting to a police station twice weekly and remaining in France.
He has asserted that France should not hold him responsible for third-party actions on Telegram.
Durov, who holds citizenship in Russia, France, and the UAE, where Telegram is based, maintains a low public profile despite having a net worth of $15.5 billion.
