I did rather die then …, says Telegram CEO Pavel Durov over his arrest by French government

Telegram co-founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, has reaffirmed his commitment to user data privacy. Replying to a user on the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) who suggested that he had provided French authorities with “backdoor” access to Telegram data after his arrest last year, Durov wrote: “I’d rather die — no third party has access to private messages on Telegram.” Durov’s post came on the first anniversary of his arrest in August 2024 by French authorities, who accused him of being complicit in criminal activity on the platform. The Russian-born entrepreneur, who has denied all criminal charges against him, was detained for four days. In a thread of posts on X, Durov discussed his arrest last year.