Free speech and online privacy: Pavel Durov's rise to the top

Telegram laminitis and escaped code advocator Pavel Durov was calved connected Oct. 10, 1984, successful St. Petersburg, Russia, and demonstrated an aboriginal knack for machine science, culminating successful the entrepreneur establishing respective palmy online societal media platforms.

While studying astatine Saint Petersburg State University, Durov became inspired by the occurrence of the Facebook societal media tract and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg — yet starting the social media level VKontakte (VK) successful 2006.

VK is simply a level akin to Facebook but geared toward Russian speakers, and it is 1 of the largest societal media platforms successful the world.

A representation of Pavel Durov arsenic a teenager. Source: Cointelegraph

The meteoric maturation of the level yet attracted the attraction of authorities regulators, who pressured the institution to censor the level and comply with authorities requests to supply idiosyncratic information.

Durov refused to comply with these requests retired of a principled stance connected state of speech, online expression, and idiosyncratic privacy, which caused the tech laminitis to beryllium ousted from the institution helium started successful 2014.

However, the tech laminitis was already hard astatine enactment connected his adjacent task earlier departing VK, a messaging level that has go a household sanction successful crypto — Telegram.

Related: TON Society celebrates Pavel Durov leaving France arsenic escaped code win

Pavel and his member Nikolai Durov motorboat Telegram

The Durov brothers launched Telegram successful 2013. Since then, the level has garnered implicit 950 cardinal users worldwide owed to its privacy-enhancing technology, which encrypts messages extremity to end.

Telegram besides has robust features that see decentralized web surfing, a torrent of mini-apps and games.

The level besides has a symbiotic narration with The Open Network (TON) — a abstracted blockchain web that has go a staple for users of the messaging application.

The Telegram laminitis discussing messaging applications astatine TechCrunch’s Disrupt conference. Source: TechCrunch

According to Forbes, the Telegram laminitis has a nett worthy of $17.1 cardinal arsenic of March 16, 2025 — chiefly done his ownership of Telegram.

In March 2024, the entrepreneur announced that Telegram was nearing profitability and was considering an archetypal nationalist offering to go a publically traded company.

Pavel Durov is simply a libertarian and has infused the liberty-minded ethos into Telegram. In a January 2025 post, Durov wrote:

"I americium arrogant that Telegram has supported state of code agelong earlier it became politically harmless to bash so. Our values don’t beryllium connected US electoral cycles."

The Telegram founder's libertarian ethos, committedness to escaped speech, and privateness yet enactment the entrepreneur successful the crosshairs of the French government.

Pavel Durov arrested successful France amid cries of politically-motivated censorship

Pavel Durov was arrested successful France connected August 24, 2024, owed to a deficiency of contented moderation connected Telegram, and subsequently charged by French prosecutors with complicity with amerciable activities and refusal to pass with authorities.

Durov speaks with autarkic quality big Tucker Carlson astir escaped code and privateness soon earlier his apprehension successful August 2024. Source: Tucker Carlson

Shortly aft his arrest, the Telegram laminitis posted bail and was released from custody connected the information that helium stay successful France during the ineligible proceedings.

The apprehension sparked wide outrage among the crypto assemblage and escaped code advocates worldwide, who condemned the French authorities for utilizing authorities powerfulness successful an effort to coerce Pavel Durov into censoring the level oregon giving the authorities the Telegram encryption keys.

French President Emmanuel Macron was accused of orchestrating a politically motivated arrest, a claim the French person denied, which lone prompted much backlash from the crypto community.

On March 15, Pavel Durov reportedly near France and headed to Dubai, wherever Telegram is headquartered, aft receiving support from French instrumentality enforcement officials to permission the country.

However, it is unclear however agelong Durov volition stay successful Dubai, arsenic the planetary combat for state of speech, privacy, and autonomy continues.

Magazine: Did Telegram’s Pavel Durov perpetrate a crime? Crypto lawyers measurement in