The messaging network, which was established in Russia, has maintained a low profile in Western countries. However, it boasts a substantial user base of hundreds of millions globally and serves as a significant factor in the Ukraine conflict.
Tendencies towards libertarianism
Pavel Durov, who was detained upon arrival in Paris on Saturday aboard his personal aircraft, initiated the platform in 2013 alongside his brother Nikolai.
It asserts a user base of 950 million, a significant increase from 550 million in 2022.
In April, Durov expressed to Tucker Carlson, a conservative American journalist, that users greatly appreciate the platform’s privacy and freedom.
Telegram has prominently emphasized its refusal to surrender or trade user data, setting itself apart from the economic strategies employed by American competitors like as Meta or Google.
News channels in Russia and Ukraine enjoy more popularity compared to traditional media outlets.
However, the site has faced persistent criticism for its inability to effectively filter and control the dissemination of extremist content.
Durov, whose net fortune is estimated at $15.5 billion by Forbes, stated in March to the Financial Times his intention to enhance the moderating mechanisms.
However, he stated that until individuals violate certain boundaries, he believes it is unnecessary to monitor or control how they choose to communicate.
However, he also stated that the company has a limited workforce of only a few dozen individuals, a factor that experts argue may not be sufficient to ensure a sufficiently safe platform.
The individual, who was 39 years old at the time, gained recognition in 2006 by establishing the social network VKontakte (VK) shortly after completing his studies at St Petersburg State University.
Millions of people registered and it rapidly gained the reputation of being “Russia’s Facebook”, which caught the attention of the Kremlin.
He stated that he had to resist the requests made by the Russian security agencies to provide information about opposition groups utilizing VK for coordination.
Subsequently, he faced significant coercion to surrender the personal information of pro-European activists in Ukraine.
As a result of these experiences, he established Telegram and then divested his ownership in VK in 2014, ultimately departing from Russia.
In 2017, he established his presence in Dubai, deliberately avoiding the stricter regulatory systems of the European Union and the United States.
Durov holds dual citizenship of the Caribbean island of Saint Kitts and Nevis as well as French nationality, which he acquired in 2021.
French prosecutors allege that Telegram has neglected its responsibility to regulate information and cooperate with the authorities.
The highlighted information includes instances of fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, glorification of terrorism, and cyberbullying.
The company has asserted that it cannot be held accountable for the actions of its users, a legal argument commonly employed by major technology platforms.
Several nations have attempted to impede access to Telegram in previous instances.
In 2018, Iran said that it was harboring violent opposition organizations.
In the same year, Russia admitted to its failure to surrender encryption keys.
Brazil temporarily imposed a block on it last year due to its failure to furnish data on neo-Nazi organizations, while Spain took action against it for intellectual property infringements.
- No earnings have been generated thus far –
Until 2018, Telegram was solely financed by Durov. However, it secured a substantial amount of $1.7 billion in funding to initiate its own digital currency.
The cryptocurrency venture collapsed following the denial of approval by US regulators, leading to the business refunding a significant portion of the invested funds.
In 2021, the messaging service started displaying advertisements while maintaining that it would not utilize users’ personal data for the purpose of targeting.
In 2022, a high-end subscription system was implemented.
Durov informed the Financial Times that his company is earning a substantial amount of income, amounting to hundreds of millions, and has the aspiration to become profitable in the near future.
Additionally, he did not exclude the possibility of conducting an initial public offering on the stock exchange.
wealth,Despite his consistent affirmation that his objective is not centered around amassing wealth.
“My main goal in life was to achieve freedom,” he informed Carlson, emphasizing that Telegram was created to enable individuals to freely express themselves.
