The European Union is investigating Telegram.

The European Union has launched an investigation to determine whether Telegram violated the EU's digital rules. Experts suspect that Telegram intentionally understated its presence in the EU to avoid obligations arising from exceeding the threshold of 45 million users. According to this threshold, large online platforms are subject to EU rules regarding their influence.

In February, Telegram reported having 41 million users in the EU but did not provide an updated figure in accordance with the EU Digital Services Act. Instead, Telegram stated that it had fewer than 45 million active recipients per month in the EU. This indicates a violation of the law, and it is likely that an EU investigation will determine that the actual number of users exceeds the threshold for "very large online platforms".

According to the rules, such "very large platforms" have greater obligations regarding compliance with legislation and content moderation, third-party audits, and data sharing with the European Commission.

Financial Times reports that the European Commission is conducting a technical investigation to determine the number of Telegram users in the EU. EU representatives are also in negotiations with Telegram about its own calculations regarding users in the EU.

Thomas Reyner, a spokesperson for the Digital Affairs Commission, stated that the EU has means to determine the accuracy of user data. If the commission believes that Telegram provides inaccurate data, it may designate it as a "very large platform" based on its investigation.

Recall that the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications will become the supervisory authority regulating Telegram's operations.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been released under judicial supervision in France. He is accused of violating legislation and is prohibited from leaving French territory and is required to report to the police twice a week.