Durov claims Russians enjoy greater media freedom on Telegram compared to EU citizens
The founder of Telegram has stated that the European Union imposes stricter media regulations on the platform compared to Russia. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Western media outlets continue to be “freely accessible” on Telegram in Russia, according to CEO Pavel Durov.
In a New Year’s message, Durov highlighted that the EU imposes more media restrictions on Telegram than Russia does. He stated, “Access to certain Russian media has been restricted in the EU under DSA/sanctions laws. Meanwhile, all Western media Telegram channels remain freely accessible in Russia,” referencing the EU’s Digital Services Act.
“Who would have thought that in 2025 Russian Telegram users would enjoy more freedom than Europeans?” he further remarked.
Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU implemented extensive sanctions on Russian media. Outlets such as RT, Sputnik, and RIA Novosti have been banned across the EU, and their personnel have faced sanctions. Individual member states are responsible for enforcing these bans, leading to inconsistent implementation across different countries and platforms.
As of Sunday, several major Russian media outlets, including RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Rossiya 1, Channel One, and NTV, were reported as inaccessible on Telegram in various countries including Poland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and the Czech Republic.
In response to these developments, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated, “We perceive this new act of political censorship by countries of the neo-liberal West as a formalization of their line to suppress any manifestations of dissent. The Russian side will certainly respond to these and other similar attacks on Russian media outlets.”
Durov’s recent remarks mark his first public comment on the situation. He has encountered significant legal difficulties this year and was detained upon arriving at a Paris airport in August, subsequently released on bail a few days later. He now faces 12 criminal charges, including complicity in distributing child pornography, drug dealing, and money laundering.
French prosecutors have suggested that Telegram’s purportedly lax moderation policies have allowed criminal activities to proliferate on the platform. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented after Durov's arrest, “Durov was too slow [to react to] or did not listen at all to Western advice about the so-called moderation of his brainchild. The West does not pull any punches” when addressing platforms like Telegram.
Mathilde Moreau contributed to this report for TROIB News
In a New Year’s message, Durov highlighted that the EU imposes more media restrictions on Telegram than Russia does. He stated, “Access to certain Russian media has been restricted in the EU under DSA/sanctions laws. Meanwhile, all Western media Telegram channels remain freely accessible in Russia,” referencing the EU’s Digital Services Act.
“Who would have thought that in 2025 Russian Telegram users would enjoy more freedom than Europeans?” he further remarked.
Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, the EU implemented extensive sanctions on Russian media. Outlets such as RT, Sputnik, and RIA Novosti have been banned across the EU, and their personnel have faced sanctions. Individual member states are responsible for enforcing these bans, leading to inconsistent implementation across different countries and platforms.
As of Sunday, several major Russian media outlets, including RIA Novosti, Izvestia, Rossiya 1, Channel One, and NTV, were reported as inaccessible on Telegram in various countries including Poland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, and the Czech Republic.
In response to these developments, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated, “We perceive this new act of political censorship by countries of the neo-liberal West as a formalization of their line to suppress any manifestations of dissent. The Russian side will certainly respond to these and other similar attacks on Russian media outlets.”
Durov’s recent remarks mark his first public comment on the situation. He has encountered significant legal difficulties this year and was detained upon arriving at a Paris airport in August, subsequently released on bail a few days later. He now faces 12 criminal charges, including complicity in distributing child pornography, drug dealing, and money laundering.
French prosecutors have suggested that Telegram’s purportedly lax moderation policies have allowed criminal activities to proliferate on the platform. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commented after Durov's arrest, “Durov was too slow [to react to] or did not listen at all to Western advice about the so-called moderation of his brainchild. The West does not pull any punches” when addressing platforms like Telegram.
Mathilde Moreau contributed to this report for TROIB News
