Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, is unable to attend the Oslo Freedom Forum physically due to a ruling by French courts that denied his travel request to Norway. Despite this, he will deliver his keynote speech remotely over a livestream. Thor Halvorssen, founder and CEO of the Human Rights Foundation, expressed disappointment at Durov's inability to attend an event where his perspective was deemed necessary. Meanwhile, Durov has been vocal about issues of censorship, revealing that French intelligence officials had asked him to censor conservative political content during the Romanian presidential elections. He firmly rejected the request, emphasizing that protecting democracy cannot involve undermining it. Durov maintains that Telegram will not engage in censorship of political content, highlighting his commitment to individual liberty and freedom of expression.

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