The case against Pavel Durov reflected an ongoing fight over one of the world’s most popular messaging and media apps, which is widely used in the country.
Pavel Durov, left, founder of Telegram, in Paris in 2025. The Kremlin has used various methods to try to restrict access to Telegram in Russia.
The tech giant that owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp says it is in touch with the Indian authorities about reports that exploitative content is being hawked on one of its platforms.