In an unfolding political drama that raises critical questions about the limits of government influence over digital platforms and freedom of expression, Elon Musk has publicly praised Telegram founder Pavel Durov for resisting an alleged French government request to censor political content on his messaging platform. The incident underscores the rising tension between state authorities and independent tech leaders over control of online discourse-especially in the heat of politically sensitive moments like national elections.

On May 18, the same day Romanians went to the polls for a presidential runoff, Pavel Durov disclosed that he had declined a Western European government’s request to shut down certain Romanian Telegram channels, which were reportedly linked to conservative political views. Though he initially did not name the country involved, Durov made his rationale crystal clear: “You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections.”

This defiant stand received support from Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), who responded with a succinct but telling endorsement: “Hear, hear!”

Not long after Durov’s post, French authorities acknowledged they were the target of his allegations but swiftly denied making any such censorship request. The denial did little to calm the storm. In a subsequent post, Durov doubled down, naming Nicolas Lerner, the director of France’s domestic intelligence agency, DGSI, as the official who had made the request.

The broader context of the controversy lies in the volatile political climate of........

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