EU officials believe Telegram lied about user numbers to skirt regulation

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August 29, 2024, 4:55 PM

• •EU officials are looking into whether Telegram lied about its user numbers to avoid being regulated under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
• •The Joint Research Centre — a department of the European Commission, the EU's executive branch — is conducting a technical investigation in an attempt to determine Telegram's true user numbers in the bloc.
• •Telegram is said to be on the cusp of cracking 1 billion users in total. Other than China
• •the user base is
• •roughly proportionate to the population of each market
• •or
• •continent
• • Durov told the FT earlier this year.

Telegram is being investigated by the EU for allegedly lying about its user numbers to avoid being regulated under the Digital Services Act. The company is said to have more than 45 million users in the bloc, which would make it subject to stricter rules. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has also been charged with "complicity in distributing child pornography, illegal drugs and hacking software" in France.

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