EU investigating Telegram – FT

The European Commission is reportedly looking into the messaging app’s possible failure to provide accurate user data

The European Commission is investigating whether Telegram breached EU digital rules by failing to provide accurate user numbers, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

The EU probe comes alongside the French government’s investigation into alleged criminal activity on the messaging platform that led to the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. The 39-year-old was arrested upon landing at a Paris airport on Saturday after arriving by private jet from Azerbaijan. He has reportedly now been released from police custody and transferred to court for possible indictment.’ A decision was expected to be issued late on Wednesday.

Officials briefed on the EU probe told FT that the commission’s Joint Research Centre is conducting a technical investigation to determine Telegram’s number of EU users.

“We have a way through our own systems and calculations to determine how accurate the user data is,” said Thomas Regnier, commission spokesperson for digital issues. “And if we think that they haven’t been providing accurate user data, we can unilaterally designate them [as a very large platform] on the basis of our own investigation.”

The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force earlier this year, requires so-called ‘Very Large Online Platforms’ (those with more than 45 million monthly users) to comply with a host of data protection and advertising-related rules.

Telegram claims to have 41 million monthly users in the EU. It issued a statement on Sunday, saying the company complies with EU laws and content-moderation policies, adding it is “absurd” to claim that Durov is responsible for the misuse of the platform by bad actors.

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In May, Telegram appointed a Belgian legal representative to ensure EU compliance. Earlier this month, the Belgian Institute of Post and Telecommunications announced that it still could not prove that Telegram had more than 41 million monthly users.

According to the FT report, Telegram was supposed to provide an updated user number this month but did not, only declaring it had “significantly fewer than 45 million average monthly active recipients in the EU.” 

The failure to provide the new data puts Telegram in breach of the DSA, two EU officials said, adding it was likely the EU’s probe would find the true number was above the threshold for “very large online platforms.”

The Russian entrepreneur, Durov, who also holds the citizenship of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, was taken into custody as part of a broader probe into child pornography, drug sales, fraud and other criminal activities on the platform. He is also being investigated for allegedly refusing to cooperate with law enforcement efforts to look into cyber and financial crimes.

Durov’s arrest has sparked strong reactions globally, with many describing it as a wider campaign against free speech waged by Western governments.