Social media app Telegram is worthwhile for the primary time after paying down “a significant share” of some $2 billion (roughly Rs. 17,037 crore) in debt, Chief Government Officer Pavel Durov stated in a submit on X Monday.
The milestone comes because the messaging service faces rising scrutiny for aiding the unfold of misinformation and unlawful content material akin to youngster sexual abuse supplies. French prosecutors in August charged the Russian-born Durov in reference to alleged crimes dedicated on the app and he’s not allowed to depart the nation.
Telegram’s complete income surpassed $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,518 crore) in 2024, and it has greater than $500 million (roughly Rs. 4,253 crore) in money reserves, not together with cryptoassets, Durov stated.
Telegram, with greater than 900 million lively customers, has drawn the ire of governments starting from the European Union to authoritarian regimes in Russia and Iran as a result of unlawful content material it hosts and its unresponsiveness to takedown requests.
In Moldova, authorities alleged it was used this 12 months to prepare a Russia-backed operation designed to undermine the nation’s European aspirations.
Misinformation unfold on Telegram after lethal floods in Spain final month which claimed greater than 150 lives. The false claims ranged from the demise toll to debunked statements that the storm had been manufactured to destroy Spanish crops.
White-supremacist teams escalated efforts within the run-up to the US election to recruit new members over Telegram, the place they’ve amplified racist conspiracies whereas posing as men-only battle golf equipment, in accordance with civil rights teams and researchers who research extremism.
Devon Spurgeon, a Telegram spokesperson, stated the app is dedicated to combating misinformation “responsibly.”
“We do that by offering customers solely with the content material they’ve subscribed to and supply a verification system to assist customers establish official channels,” Spurgeon stated. “We additionally don’t deploy algorithms that promote sensational content material.”
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