EU Censorship News

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has once again spoken out against what he sees as France's unjust and politically motivated prosecution of him and his company. He said in a statement:

Two years ago, I was detained in Paris by police for 3 days -- the longest they can hold someone before charging them.

In an unprecedented move, French authorities accused the head of a major platform of crimes committed by its users.

That investigation is still ongoing, although it makes less sense with each passing year.

Why?

Because we now have extensive evidence that Telegram was neither worse than other popular platforms at moderation, nor the worst at cooperating with authorities.

So why was Telegram singled out?

Over the last two years, we have seen a pattern emerge in multiple countries: Telegram is quietly asked to grant political favors -- such as illegal censorship or surveillance. When we refuse, local media and non-governmental organizations launch orchestrated campaigns portraying Telegram as a cesspool of crime, from child pornography to terrorism.

Our moderation is no worse than that of other major platforms. Yet these campaigns instill the idea that Telegram should be persecuted or restricted.

Suddenly, officials start caring about crime and protecting children -- but only on platforms that reject their secret political demands. Platforms that accept such deals get away with almost anything -- including literally selling ads promoting child pornography.

Is the French investigation against me political? It certainly fits the pattern we see elsewhere, mostly in authoritarian countries. And it definitely raises questions.

In time, this investigation may itself be investigated -- especially now that Macron's war against free speech is facing pushback. This month, France's Constitutional Council struck down his social media ban for children under 15 on freedom-of-expression grounds.

In the end, freedom and truth will prevail

Ireland's government is preparing to require citizens to use a state-controlled digital wallet app to access social media platforms and adult websites, even as its own departments continue to suffer repeated data breaches.

The app, being developed by the governments chief information officer, will hold key personal identifiers such as a persons Public Services Card and drivers license, and could later include other credentials like a TV license.

Under the proposal, social media companies will be required to use this government system to verify the age of users before granting access to their platforms.

Surveillance Minister Patrick ODonovan described the plan as a necessary step to address what he called the severe public health issue of children viewing inappropriate material online. He said that hose who refuse to use the app would lose access to their social media accounts and to websites listed on a government age-restricted schedule.

However the Irish government's own of protecting personal information remains poor. Figures released by the Department of Defence show that 31 data breaches occurred in 2025, though only two were serious enough to be reported to the Data Protection Commission (DPC).

Poland's nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed EU censorship law. The EU's Digital Services Act, which seeks to force big platforms like Elon Musk's X, Facebook, Instagram to censor content, as a form of Orwellian censorship against conservatives and right-wingers.

The presidential veto stops national regulators in Warsaw from implementing the DSA.

Nawrocki argued that while the bill's stated aim of protecting citizens was legitimate, the Polish bill would grant excessive power to government officials over online content, resulting in administrative censorship. Nawrocki said in a statement;

I want this to be stated clearly: a situation in which what is allowed on the internet is decided by an official subordinate to the government resembles the construction of the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell's novel 1984.

French lawmakers are preparing a renewed push to restrict children's online experience, unveiling a proposal that would block anyone under 15 from using social media platforms.

The draft legislation sets September 2026 as the target date for enforcement.

President Emmanuel Macron has endorsed the plan and urged Parliament to take it up.

To apply such a rule, online platforms would need to verify every user's age at sign-up or login. This would go far beyond the current model of self-declared birthdays and instead rely on official credentials such as national IDs, drivers licenses, or government-backed digital identity wallets. In effect, it would introduce a form of digital ID into everyday internet use.