Europe accused Telegram of hiding the real number of users
Investigations by regulatory authorities in the European Union have faced a new accusation against Telegram messengers, and they suspect that the platform did not declare its true number of users in order to circumvent digital laws.
Eviralnews,, quoted by IngetEuropean Union authorities have launched an investigation into popular messaging app Telegram, alleging that the platform may have misrepresented its user numbers to evade strict Digital Services Act (DSA) regulations.
Following Telegram's claim of having 41 million users in the European region, the Joint Research Center of the European Commission is conducting a technical investigation to determine the actual number of users of this platform in the European Union.
The Telegram company recently announced that it has less than 45 million monthly active users in the European region, but the supervisory authorities believe that the actual number of Telegram users is more than this number.
If Telegram is found to have more than 45 million users, it would be classified as a very large online platform under the Digital Services Act, subjecting it to strict compliance and content moderation rules, as well as potential fines. The annual revenue from these violations is significant as Telegram approaches a total of one billion users worldwide.
The investigation comes as Telegram's French CEO, Pavel Durov, faces multiple charges, including involvement in the distribution of child pornography, drug distribution, and failure to cooperate with investigations into illegal activities on the platform. Durov was arrested last week at an airport near Paris and later released on bail of 5 million euros, with conditions requiring him to stay in France and report to authorities twice a week until the investigation is completed.
