Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, alleged that France's foreign intelligence service requested him to ban conservative Romanian political channels ahead of the May 2025 elections, citing concerns related to terrorism and child pornography. Durov stated that the true focus of the agency was geopolitical, particularly regarding Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. He reported that the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) requested IP logs of users involved in political discussions but claimed that child pornography was used as a deceptive justification for their actual objective. French officials denied Durov's claims, asserting that discussions with him were limited to preventing terrorist threats and child exploitation on the platform. Durov emphasized that one cannot support democracy while undermining its principles, a notion he exposed to his followers on social media. This incident raises increasing apprehensions about government overreach concerning encrypted communications and election interference.

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