Telegram's founder accuses Macron of creating 'digital gulag' in Europe

Telegram messaging app founder Pavel Durov accused French President Emmanuel Macron of turning the European Union into a digital "gulag," referring to a system of forced labor camps that operated in the Soviet Union.

Citing remarks Wednesday by Macron, who slammed a decision by the US to impose visa bans on former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and other anti-disinformation campaigners, Durov said on the US social media company X's platform that Breton, "the sanctioned architect of the EU's censorship law, is a close ally and appointee of Macron."

"Facing ultralow approval ratings, Macron is trying to silence online critics by turning the entire EU into a digital gulag — through censorship (DSA) and mass surveillance (Chat Control)," he added.

He also recalled that Macron said Europeans were "completely wrong to use social networks for information" and should instead depend on journalists and established outlets.

In March, Durov announced that he had left France, where he was under investigation, with judicial permission and returned to Dubai.

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a sweeping EU law that requires big tech platforms to take meaningful steps to reduce illegal and harmful content, while the European Commission's "Chat Control" plan would mandate mass scanning and other encryption-breaking measures.