August 02, 2026

Internet Freedom vs. Internet Police


Internet Freedom vs. Internet Police
Durov in 2013. TechCrunch, Wikimedia Commons

On July 28, Russia's state security service, the FSB, announced an arrest warrant for Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the social media app Telegram.

Durov, who is from Russia but currently resides in Dubai, is accused of "aiding terrorism." The Russian state points to the numbers of Ukrainian agents, bots and accounts that populate the Telegram platform, which Durov and the Telegram management have failed to remove.

Telegram is Russia's homegrown social media platform. Because major social media sites like Facebook and Twitter/X are housed in the West, Russian viewpoints are often suppressed (and for anyone without a VPN, they can also be inaccessible). Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Telegram has also become a go-to resource for Russian officials to provide updates, and for citizens to read them.

Telegram is also famously laissez-faire when it comes to restrictions on content, meaning what may be blocked on other sites is permitted and distributed on Telegram.

Ironically, this commitment to free speech has placed Durov in the Russian state's sights. That, and Russia's increasing internet centralization, a part of which is encouraging users to leave Telegram for the Kremlin's proprietary social media site, Max, which launched earlier this year.

Double ironically, Russian state media made the announcement of Durov's warrant... on Telegram.

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