“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the statement published on the official Telegram channel said.
“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” the channel said.
The team added that they are awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation.
Durov was arrested at a French airport Saturday evening. The entrepreneur co-founded Telegram with his brother in 2013. The US government has pressured Durov to allow a "backdoor" in the app for Western intelligence, the CEO told US journalist Tucker Carlson earlier this year. However the entrepreneur has maintained that Telegram should remain a “neutral platform” that is not a “player in geopolitics.”