Factbox-Who is Pavel Durov, CEO of messaging app Telegram?

July 29 (Reuters) - Russia's security service ‌said on Wednesday ​that ​it had charged Pavel Durov, founder of the Telegram messaging app, with facilitating terrorist activities.

Durov did not immediately comment, but has previously ‌described the case against him as a fabricated pretext to restrict Russians' ⁠access to Telegram as part of efforts to suppress the right to privacy and free speech.

Following ‌is a summary of what ‌is known about Durov and Telegram:

• Russian-born Durov, 41, is the founder and owner of the free-to-use messaging app that competes globally with platforms such as ​Meta's WhatsApp.

• Telegram says it has more than 1 billion users. It has become a critical source of information on Russia's war in Ukraine and ⁠is used widely by both Moscow and Kyiv officials. Some analysts have called the app "a virtual battlefield" for ​the conflict.

• Durov, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $6.6 billion, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government ​demands to shut down opposition communities on ‌his VKontakte social media platform, which he sold.

• Russia began blocking Telegram in 2018 after the app's operators refused to comply ⁠with a court order to grant state security services access to its users' encrypted messages.

• The action had little effect on the availability of Telegram there, but it sparked mass ⁠protests in Moscow and criticism from NGOs.

• Since leaving Russia, Durov has acquired French and ​Emirati citizenship. He moved himself and Telegram to Dubai in 2017.

• Russia has stepped up its efforts to curb Telegram this year, introducing further restrictions and pursuing the criminal case against ‌Durov.

• Telegram has accused Russian authorities of using false pretexts to justify outlawing the app and pressure Russians to use ‌the new state-backed messenger app MAX.

• Telegram's popularity has seen it come under increasing ⁠scrutiny globally. France is investigating the ‌platform's alleged failure to ​adequately counter criminal activity. Authorities in other countries have also raised concerns about illicit content. Telegram denies wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by ‌David Holmes)

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Morning Bid: Failure to communicate
• Nuclear company Westinghouse confidentially files for US IPO
• Trump convenes Cabinet at Camp David amid simmering Iran war