Spain hits back at Pavel Durov over mass Telegram post on social media ban plan

Durov (right) accused the government of Pedro Sánchez (left) of putting ‘internet freedoms’ under threat. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini, Nicolas Tucat, Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images

Spain has accused Pavel Durov of “spreading lies” and seeking to undermine democratic institutions after the Telegram founder used the messaging app to attack government plans to introduce a social media ban for under-16s and to hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content.

Durov’s extraordinary public intervention – which came a day after Elon Musk called Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, a “true fascist totalitarian” over the proposed measures – reveals the rapidly escalating tensions between European governments and powerful global technology chiefs.