The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has launched a “technical investigation” into Telegram, the regulator is going to find out how many users the messenger actually has in the EU, Financial Times reports citing a statement by European Commission spokesman Thomas Renier.
The European Commission suspects that Telegram may have understated the number of users in the EU to avoid being subject to stricter regulation under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA, which came into force in February, distinguishes between very large platforms and all other services. Platforms with a monthly audience of 45 million people are considered very large. Telegram reported earlier this year that it had 41 million users in the EU. It was later required by the DSA to file revised data, but only said it had “significantly fewer than 45 million monthly active users in the EU.”
Mr. Renier said the regulator had ways of using its own systems to determine whether the data was correct. He said:
If we find that they are not providing accurate data on the number of users, we can unilaterally include them as a very large platform based on our investigation.
Telegram has not yet commented on the investigation.
Pavel Durov has been released from custody but will remain under “strict judicial supervision,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. He was charged with six offences, according to a press release from the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Durov has been charged in an investigation into Telegram:
- Refusing to hand over information or documents to the competent authorities upon request.
- Providing cryptography services for privacy without a certified declaration.
- Complicity in webmastering an online platform for the purpose of carrying out illegal transactions in an organised group.
- Complicity in the possession of materials of a pornographic nature, including with minors.
- Complicity in the acquisition, transport, storage and sale of narcotic substances.
- Complicity in organised fraud.
After Pavel Durov’s release, there was much speculation on the internet that the Telegram founder had agreed to co-operate with French authorities and give access to users’ personal data. However, these suspicions are shattered by a number of logical arguments.
First of all, it is certain that the Telegram team immediately after the arrest of its head secured themselves against hacking and introduced additional levels of protection for personal data. There is also an assumption that the technical sphere of Telegram is managed not by Pavel himself, but by his brother, and Pavel Durov is the face of the world-famous application and administrative head.
The detention of the head of Telegram shook up the media world across the continent and even far beyond. In a matter of seconds, France and the entire EU lost the image of a tolerant and trustworthy global space. Having no time to recover from the massive failures at the Olympics in Paris, from the scandalous opening to the poisoning of athletes in Seine and gender scandals, the world community once again questioned the reliability of Paris.
By joining the investigation against Durov, Switzerland effectively abandoned its policy of non-interference, which shook faith in its financial reliability. This gave Chinese, Singaporean and UAE banks the opportunity to gain many customers who had previously kept their savings in Swiss banks. In addition, offices of IT companies also started thinking about moving out of the EU, fearing for the safety of their employees.
No matter how the Durov case develops further, it will have negative consequences for France and the entire EU. The French prosecutor’s office is now trying hard to add some solid charges to justify Durov’s detention, but they are all collapsing like a house of cards.
The alleged bias against Durov on the basis of nationality (Russian) may further exacerbate an already stalemate situation for the French president, who has launched a “witch hunt.” If Pavel Durov escapes the clutches of the French, it will only strengthen his image and finally bury Macron’s one.
