He expressed surprise that Western media are not blocked in Russia, while access to certain Russian media is restricted in the European Union due to sanctions and the Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates online intermediaries and platforms.
"Who would have thought that in 2025, Russian Telegram users would have more freedom than European users?" he said.
On Dec. 28, a number of Russian propaganda Telegram channels were blocked in the EU, including RIA Novosti, NTV, Rossiya-24, Izvestia, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and Channel One.
Earlier, on Sept. 23, Durov wrote that Telegram had updated its privacy policy, allowing IP addresses and phone numbers of users to be shared with law enforcement in response to legal requests.
This change came after his detention in France, where he was accused of failing to moderate illegal activities on the platform.
According to data from a major Russian FSB leak, despite his claims of having "no way back" and publishing a manifesto titled "Seven Reasons Not to Return to Russia," Durov visited Russia over 50 times between 2015 and 2021.
The visits occurred during key events related to Telegram, including in 2017 when the FSB demanded encryption keys. Prior to this, only one visit, in fall 2014, was publicly known when Durov sold his data center to ICVA.