On May 25, Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov was originally scheduled to attend the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway, but the French court has rejected his request to leave the country. The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) stated that Durov will deliver his keynote speech via online live broadcast.
Previously, Durov publicly accused Nicolas Lerner, the head of the French intelligence agency, of requesting that he block conservative political content before the Romanian presidential election. Durov refused to cooperate and said this was "destroying democracy in the name of democracy".
He emphasized that Telegram will not censor political speech in any market and stated that if faced with forced censorship pressure, they will choose to exit the relevant markets. He said: "We have not blocked protesters in Russia, Belarus, or Iran, and we will not do so in Europe." (Cointelegraph)
