Kremlin says it made no deals with Telegram's Durov

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00:00The significance of France's detention and investigation of Pavel Durov, downplayed by

00:06Moscow.

00:07Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia is ready to assist the Telegram founder to

00:13the extent of its capabilities, and that as a French citizen, Durov has everything he

00:18needed to organise his legal defence, but asserted the case should not turn into political

00:24persecution.

00:26The main thing is that what's happening in France does not turn into political persecution.

00:31We know that the President of France has denied any connection with politics, but on the other

00:36hand certain accusations are being made.

00:39We will see what happens next.

00:42Durov may face additional scrutiny, this time coming from the EU.

00:47The European Commission is investigating whether Telegram has the minimum number of users that

00:52would require it to comply with more stringent rules.

00:56Since February, a new law, known as the Digital Services Act, means platforms in the EU with

01:01at least 45 million monthly users have greater obligations.

01:06Telegram escaped the extra rules since it said it had 41 million users in February,

01:11but the Commission has admitted to having doubts over those claims.

01:15Under the DSA, platforms must update their figures every six months, and when the time

01:20came for an update in August, Telegram refused to give exact figures, insisting on its website

01:26that it had significantly fewer than 45 million average monthly active recipients in the EU.

01:33What we are asking for is a precise figure.

01:36Telegram merely says they are sharply below the threshold.

01:40Violations under the DSA can be met with sanctions, mainly in the form of fines.

01:46The EU has stressed there is no connection with Durov's case in France.

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