INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
state orders to take down opposition communities on VKontakte, the social network he co-founded in 2007.In 2013, Durov said a similar
in Russian-speaking countries, was controlled by the Russian state and suggested that his Western competitors may have spread the rumor over
fears about its growth.He also claimed that the FBI attempted to secretly recruit one of Telegram's developers to build a backdoor into
the messenger during his most recent visit to the United States.Durov forecast that Telegram, which has 900 million active users, would
cross 1 billion active monthly users within one year.The app, which touts itself as a safe and secure communications tool, does not use
end-to-end encryption by default.Carlson, who is known for spreading conspiracy theories and far-right views, interviewed Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Moscow in February.The interview with Durov marked the debut of the Telegram channel for his Tucker Carlson Network.
