Telegram has been talking about a stock market flotation for years. Russia’s Vedomosti reported as far back as 2021 that an IPO would come in 2023—it didn’t, but CEO Pavel Durov has again been banging the IPO drum for the past several months, arguing that Telegram is nearing both profitability and a billion users.
Throughout this revived hype, I’ve been wondering: “What about the crime?” Every social network and messaging app (Telegram is both) has issues with illegal content, but Telegram’s are over the top. As most users who have tapped “find people nearby” can tell you, it’s a wretched hive of scum and villainy—drugs, sex, weaponry, and stolen data are all on offer, to say nothing of the hitmen and terrorists.
