Russia opens criminal terrorism investigation into Telegram founder Pavel Durov as FSB throttles network traffic to force domestic MAX transition

Russian authorities have opened a criminal terrorism investigation into Telegram founder Pavel Durov, escalating a broader clampdown on the messaging app as the state security service FSB moves to push users toward a domestically controlled alternative. According to state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, citing materials from the FSB, Durov’s actions are being examined under Article 205.1(1.1) of Russia’s Criminal Code, which covers “assistance to terrorist activities.” The case alleges that Telegram has failed to remove extremist and terrorist content and thereby facilitated terrorism, amid repeated claims by Russian officials that the platform hosts criminal activity and is influenced by Western and Ukrainian intelligence services. Russia’s communications regulator has already imposed technical restrictions and throttling on Telegram traffic inside the country, formally justified as a response to non-compliance with content removal demands. This legal move comes as Moscow intensifies efforts to migrate users from Telegram to MAX, a state-backed messaging service launched roughly a year earlier and presented as a secure domestic alternative. Slowing Telegram’s performance and launching a high-profile case against its founder align with the Kremlin’s longer-term project of building a “sovereign internet” with tighter information control. Durov, who lives abroad and has previously clashed with Russian authorities over both VKontakte and Telegram, publicly denounced the case as fabricated and framed it as an attempt to suppress privacy and free speech, saying Russia is “afraid of its own people.” The investigation adds a new front to his growing legal exposure, following his 2024 arrest in France over separate allegations tied to criminal use of Telegram.

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