Bash in the Bush: Roos vs the GOAT

Bash in the Bush: Roos vs the GOAT

First France, then Russia, and now Australia. Pavel Durov (the founder of VKontakte and Telegram) appears to be a person of interest in three countries.

He awaits trial in France on assorted online violations. Russia wants him because he is an alleged terrorist. Now Australia has identified the self-proclaimed GOAT (greatest of all time Russian innovator) for his failure to take down terrorist content, according to DW.com. Click here for the source document

The news item said:

Australia's online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, said it had begun action after videos of terrorist executions, mass shootings and other extremist material linked to attacks including the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings and the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting continued to exist on Telegram.

Australia has levied a US$38 million fine on Durov. Australia notified Telegram of the problematic content, and the company ignored those formal requests.

Australia sought removal and additional information about the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings and 2022 incident in Buffalo, New York. The Australian authorities expect online providers to comply with their formal requests. Australia made 12 requests between September 27 and October 5, 2025. None was acted upon even though Durov was awaiting his criminal trial in France and asserting that he was cooperating with law enforcement. Australia's action suggests that Durov's actions were not in line with his statements.

Durov's position has been to position Telegram as a service that permits free speech. He has made direct statements that government regulations should not limit one's freedom. His ideology is popular among a large percentage of Telegram's estimated 800 million users.

One question my team and I discussed after the Russian and Australian actions was, "How many other countries will file charges against Telegram?" Additional criminal charges may translate to political pressure on the United Arab Emirates where Telegram and its TON Foundation have offices in one of that country's "enterprise zones."

Telegram opened for business in 2013 and helped jump start semi-automated cyber crime when it rolled out its "bot api." Under Durov's leadership, Telegram has added features at a brisk cadence until his arrest in August 2024. Durov's involvement with his French attorneys and the demands of the French judicial process may have contributed to the tardy deployment of artificial intelligence for Telegram users, developers, and partners.

In early 2026, Telegram débuted the firm's Cocoon AI initiative. Recently outages, upgrade issues, and staff departures began to signal that Telegram's well-groomed GOAT is showing signs of distress.

It is unlikely that the GOAT will travel to Australia to observe the kangaroos with badges in Canberra.

Stephen E Arnold, July 31, 2026