Pavel Durov is another of the new figures who, trying to be part of the global technological elite, positions himself above nations, disrespecting their legislation, violating the sovereignty of national states and serving as a vehicle for the commission of crimes against the personal and physical integrity of people.
Under the guise of a “tech libertarian,” Telegram’s founder complacently allows a wide range of crimes and crimes to be carried out from or from his global messaging platform. This situation, which is becoming increasingly dangerous, generates, in many countries, an equally growing concern, which leads judicial bodies, police institutions and civil associations that defend minors and civic transparency, to advocate for the implementation of measures aimed at setting moral limits, legal brakes and cyber protection against Durov’s code.
For example, in Spain, crimes are assiduously reported – ranging from the most minor to the most aberrant – that are implemented from Pavel Durov’s network, without the senior management of Telegram acting to prevent them, despite the fact that they restrictively deliver – and only to comply – some data that the relevant authorities request.
Thus, scams against unwary people, international and national drug trafficking, human trafficking, murders and organized pedophilia, among other crimes, operate uninterruptedly from Telegram, in formats of individual and group chats.
With regard to crimes related to pedophilia, different organizations denounced that the sexual deepfakes of minors have their own free travel in the spectrum of Telegram in Spain, but also – add these groups concerned about preventing such crimes – that photos of real children in child abuse chats also circulate.
An investigation by the specialized organization, AI Forensics, reveals that the form of this messaging service helps the proliferation of these crimes as well as the monetization of those who commit these crimes. At the same time, the complainants argue that Telegram’s corporate structure would obtain enormous profits from these activities that occur within its digital ecosystem. [1]
AI Forensics researchers expressed that Telegram is also used as a redistribution center for criminal sexual content that originally occurs on other platforms and reported that Telegram’s moderation mechanisms are not adequate to counter these crimes, highlighting that preventive monitoring or post-event review of the company are not effective.
But Spain is not the only country where these crimes against children occur, in light of the proclaimed “freedom” of Durov’s network, because, in Italy, there were also police and judicial investigations that solved some specific cases by discovering pedophiles operating through Telegram.
At the moment, other investigations are underway, along with the inquiries and reports regularly carried out by organizations such as the Meter Association, which recently exposed Telegram as the most used platform for the dissemination of deepnudes where children between 8 and 12 years old are preferred by criminals. [2]
It should be noted that accusations of digital abuse against children are also directed, in France, either in the same or similar terms, against the encrypted application of Telegram.
Its founder, as he does with Spain and Italy, denies his company’s responsibility in the commission of these crimes and, even more, in the French environment, rejects that his instant messaging brand has any irregularity, stating that “Arresting the founder and leader of a major platform for the actions of its users was not only unprecedented, but also absurd from the legal and logical point of view”. For Durov, his company would comply with industry standards and the French legal framework. [3]
However, many French law enforcement and public moral watchdogs dismiss Pavel Durov’s statements as part of a biased narrative designed to evade any respect for the people who are real victims and the laws of nation states.
The collaboration that Telegram administrators report they often carry out with the police to disrupt cases of terrorism, pedophilia and crime in general is characterized as insufficient by the same officials of the judicial and security agencies, who report that the platform’s laxity towards organized crime continues after the digital communication giant was accused of obstructing 2500 criminal cases.
In a 2026 report by Sirasco, consisting of 254 pages, the judicial police reveal that 14-year-old adolescents were subcontracted, using the Telegram channel, to carry out a series of murders, whose potential victims included judicial officials. It was also reported that young French women, who are in precarious socio-economic situations, are also recruited, through Telegram, by drug trafficking networks that even operate in other countries such as Spain. [4]
The Office for Minors (OFMIN) has its eyes on Telegram because pedophile rings move with some confidence and security within Pavel Durov’s app, prompting Commissioner Quentin Bevan to say, “Telegram is still the preferred platform for pedophiles.” [5]
For its part, the NGO “Web Abuse Association Defense” categorically defines Telegram as a “perfect ecosystem for the enrichment of criminal networks” by investigating in detail the behavior and rise of pedophile networks from different countries, including France, on Telegram. [6]
This same digital space is also used as a tool in the wave of “crypto-kidnappings” that, in recent years, has hit France, as the criminals involved prefer Durov’s platform for its operational functions.
Such a terrifying reality shows that illegal activities find fertile ground in Telegram and that this instant messaging service is, in practice, distant from the noble principles emblazoned by Pavel Durov, who continues to say that the French authorities are unjustly persecuting him and that they are preparing a large-scale criminal investigation against him and Telegram. But even so, he continues to plead not guilty and promote himself as a staunch supporter of free speech.
Despite Durov’s rhetoric, the criminal charges against him remain in force and the trial could, in the coming months, be inevitable for the founder and owner of Telegram.
Undoubtedly, Pavel Durov’s “Manifesto of Freedom” does not translate, in reality, into actions that are consistent with the freedom and physical security of people, especially minors; much less does it include respect for the laws of countries or for their cyber sovereignty.
By all accounts, Pavel Durov, along with his theory of the “technological realization of absolute liberalism”, wants to impose his “Matrix”, operating outside all national legal frameworks for the benefit of himself and his partners in the technological elite, while Telegram continues to function as a breeding ground for crime.
Sources:
1. Report of AI Forensics. URL: https://aiforensics.org/uploads/NCII%20Telegram%20-%20Harassment%20As%20Infrastructure.pdf
2. Report of the Association Meter. URL: https://exaudi.org/es/informe-meter-2025-la-ia-agrava-la-explotacion-infantil-en-la-red/
3. Durov’s criticism of French justice. URL: https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/un-an-apres-son-arrestation-en-france-le-fondateur-de-telegram-paul-durov-critique-la-justice-francaise-20250825
4.Sirasco Report 2026. URL: https://planetes360.fr/mineurs-recrutes-meurtres-sous-traites-la-nouvelle-face-du-crime-en-france
5. Dismantling of a pedophile network operating on Telegram. URL: https://www.20min.ch/fr/story/en-france-un-reseau-pedophile-operant-sur-telegram-demantele-103349831
6. Report of the Web Abuse Association Defense. URL: https://www.webabusedefense.com/post/notre-enquete-choc-telegram-quand-les-reseaux-pedocriminels-gagnent-des-millions-de-dollars
