ChainCatcher news, Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated in his personal channel that Telegram has firmly supported the value of freedom of speech long before it became a political security issue, emphasizing that its core values are not influenced by the U.S. election cycle.He also pointed out that while other platforms have recently announced a reduction in censorship, the real test will come when the political winds change again.

ChainCatcher news, Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated in his personal TG channel: "2024 is going to be a very good year for Telegram, as we achieved profitability for the first time three years after starting commercialization. The number of Telegram Premium subscribers has tripled, exceeding 12 million. Advertising revenue has also increased several times. Telegram's total revenue for 2024 has surpassed $1 billion, and cash reserves exceed $500 million (excluding crypto assets).Over the past four years, Telegram has issued approximately $2 billion in debt and repaid part of the debt this fall by taking advantage of favorable bond prices."

ChainCatcher news, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov posted on his channel that Telegram Mini Apps 2.0 has been launched, marking the largest update in the history of Mini Apps, with new features including full-screen mode, home screen shortcuts, geolocation, action tracking, media sharing, document creation, gift sending, subscription tiers, and emoji statuses.Among them:Tiny Verse opens in full screen and looks stunning on both desktops and tablets. Be sure to swipe and zoom to appreciate the 3D effects.The taskbar in Playdeck now has an "Add to Home Screen" option—plus a flying snowman that moves according to the device's orientation.Major has added a custom loading screen and a new Major Maze mini-game, where you can guide a rolling ball by tilting your phone.

ChainCatcher news, Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced the launch of the phone number verification service Telegram Gateway on his personal channel, allowing businesses to send verification codes directly to users via Telegram, saving millions of dollars, with each verification code costing only $0.01.Pavel Durov stated: "Phone number verification is a multi-billion dollar industry. Telegram alone spends about $10 million a month to verify all users who register and log into our services. Our prices are unprecedentedly low, so I'm not sure if Telegram Gateway will become a significant source of revenue for us. But we hope this initiative will improve efficiency worldwide and reduce the costs and prices of many services globally."

ChainCatcher news, Telegram founder Pavel Durov posted on his personal TG channel: "Yesterday I proposed 10 improvements for our application. We prepared the model the same day, and today, we already have a fully functional version that implements these features.These updates include 5 improvements for gifts, 3 improvements for tags, the ability to add media after sending a message, and the ability to view the message editing time. All of this took just one day."

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Telegram founder Pavel Durov confirmed that the privacy policy of Telegram has not changed since 2018. Only in legal cases will the IP addresses and phone numbers of criminals be shared, and the information of other users remains unaffected.

ChainCatcher news, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov stated in his TG channel that the number of Telegram paid users has reached 10 million. Today, they launched new features while phasing out some outdated ones.Pavel Durov mentioned that the "People Nearby" feature has been removed, as less than 0.1% of Telegram users utilized it, and it posed issues with bots and scammers. Instead, a "Nearby Businesses" feature will be introduced to showcase verified legitimate businesses. These businesses will be able to display product catalogs and seamlessly accept payments. Additionally, uploading new media to Telegraph (the independent blogging tool) has been prohibited, as it seems to have been abused by anonymous users.

ChainCatcher news, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov posted on X: "Last month, after arriving in Paris, I was interrogated by the police for four days. I was told that I might be held personally responsible for the illegal use of Telegram by others, as the French authorities had not received a response from Telegram. This is surprising for the following reasons:Telegram has an official representative in the EU responsible for receiving and responding to EU requests. Its email address is publicly available, and anyone within the EU can find the Telegram EU law enforcement address by searching on Google.The French authorities have multiple ways to contact me for assistance. As a French citizen, I am a frequent visitor to the French consulate in Dubai. Not long ago, at their request, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to address the threat of terrorism in France.If a country is dissatisfied with an internet service, the usual practice is to file a legal lawsuit against the service itself. Using laws from before the smartphone era to accuse a CEO of third-party crimes committed on the platform he manages is a simplistic approach. Developing technological means is already challenging enough. If innovators know they might be held personally responsible for the potential misuse of these tools, they will not develop new tools."

ChainCatcher news, Telegram founder Pavel Durov spoke out through Telegram after being arrested in France, stating, "The claim that Telegram is some sort of anarchist paradise is absolutely untrue. We delete millions of harmful posts and channels every day. We also publish daily transparency reports and have direct communication channels with NGOs to handle urgent regulatory requests more quickly.The rapid growth of Telegram's user base to 950 million has led to growing pains for the platform, making it easier for criminals to abuse it. That is why I have made it my personal goal to significantly improve this situation. We have already started this process internally and will soon share more details about our progress with everyone."

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov spoke out for the first time on the Telegram platform after being arrested in France. He not only denied the reasons for his arrest but also stated his readiness to exit markets that are incompatible with Telegram's principles.Durov emphasized, "If we cannot reach an agreement with the regulators of a country on the balance of privacy and security, we are ready to leave that country at any time. We have done this multiple times." He cited examples of Russia and Iran. "We are prepared to leave markets that are incompatible with our principles because we are not in it for the money. Our motivation is to bring benefits to people and defend fundamental rights, especially where those rights are being violated."Previously, it was reported that Durov was arrested at a Paris airport and subsequently charged by a French court. The charges include "aiding the dissemination of child sexual images and other crimes, such as drug trafficking on messaging applications." This arrest is part of a broader cybercrime investigation involving allegations that Telegram has facilitated money laundering, child pornography, and drug trafficking through its encrypted tools and services. French authorities have released Durov but required him to accept "judicial supervision," meaning the Telegram founder must remain in France.

ChainCatcher news, Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated that if a country is dissatisfied with platforms like Telegram, it should sue the service platform itself, rather than suing its CEO. (Jinshi)

ChainCatcher news, French President Emmanuel Macron held a press conference during his diplomatic visit to Serbia. In a televised broadcast of the visit, the French leader told reporters that he did not invite Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov to France and was unaware of his plans to come to France.According to the translated version of Macron's response, the French president said: "As far as I am concerned, I am completely unaware that Mr. Pavel Durov would come to France. This is quite normal, as I do not know about people coming to France from all over the world, regardless of whether they hold French nationality."The French president then reiterated that Pavel Durov's case would be handled by "the independent actions of the French judicial system." France faces widespread opposition from the international community over the decision to arrest Durov, while Macron insists that the decision to detain the tech entrepreneur was not politically motivated.Previous news reported that, according to sources from the French newspaper Canard Chain de l'Elysée, Telegram founder Durov informed the police that he was supposed to have dinner with President Macron on the day of his arrest.

ChainCatcher news, according to AFP, after being detained by French investigators for nearly four days, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been handed over to French judicial authorities who will decide on subsequent law enforcement measures. A Paris investigating judge will determine whether to bring charges against Pavel Durov, after which the French judiciary will decide whether to detain him or allow him to be released, as well as whether to impose judicial control or restrict his movements.

ChainCatcher news, according to reports from French media cited by RIA Novosti, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been taken to a court in Paris. RIA Novosti reporters stated that on the same day, two vehicles with flashing lights sped away from the National Anti-Fraud Bureau in the suburbs of Paris, where Durov was reportedly detained earlier. Sources from the French prosecutor's office revealed that authorities plan to issue a new statement regarding the Telegram case that evening.

ChainCatcher message, according to the Wall Street Journal, a person close to Pavel Durov revealed that Telegram has long ignored subpoenas from law enforcement, piling them up in a company email inbox that is rarely checked.In 2018, French President Macron invited Pavel Durov to move Telegram to Paris and considered granting him French citizenship. Additionally, sources indicated that in 2017, French and UAE intelligence agencies collaborated to hack Durov's iPhone, with the operation code-named "Purple Music."