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

Founder’s extraordinary intervention has laid bare rising tensions between European governments and tech firmsSpain has accused Pavel Durov of “spreading lies” and seeking to undermine democratic institutions after the Telegram founder used the messaging app to attack government 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 over the proposed measures – reveals the rapidly escalating tensions between European governments and powerful global technology chiefs.