Paris - London: Agencies
The British newspaper "Financial Times" reported that the European Union is investigating the possibility that the "Telegram" application did not disclose the large numbers of its users in order to avoid additional Brussels rules resulting from that.
The newspaper's publication stated: "Legal and data experts in the European Union suspect that the application is reducing the number of its users in the European Union to avoid exceeding the threshold of 45 million users, above which major online platforms are subject to a series of Brussels rules designed to limit their influence."
The newspaper quoted the spokesman for the European Commission, Thomas Renier, as saying that "the European Union Research Center is conducting an investigation to determine the accuracy of the data provided."
He added: "If we believe that (Telegram) did not provide accurate data on the number of users, we can classify (the messaging program) as (a very large platform) based on our own investigation."
It is worth noting that "Telegram" was supposed to provide the European Union with updated data this month, but it did not do so, and merely explained that it has much less than 45 million monthly active users within the application.
According to the publication, Telegram's acquisition of the status of a very large online platform in the European Union means that the messaging program will have to monitor content more strictly and submit data mandatorily to the European Commission. According to what was reported by the Al-Youm Al-Sabea news website in Cairo, the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office announced on Wednesday that it had decided to release Telegram founder Pavel Durov on bail of 5 million euros, with judicial supervision and a ban on leaving France, after he was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on August 24. The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office later stated that Durov was detained for questioning as part of a case opened on July 8 against an unnamed person suspected of committing 12 crimes. It is worth noting that Durov holds passports from Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.