Telegram’s Pavel Durov blasts UK teen social media restrictions

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has criticized UK authorities’ plans to prohibit social media use for people under 16. He argued that such measures would not protect teenagers but would instead push them toward using VPNs and other potentially more dangerous online resources.

On his Telegram channel, Durov said that such bans have already proved to be ineffective. He used Iran and Russia as examples where the majority of teens continued to use the messenger via VPN after it was blocked there.

«When the Russian government banned Telegram, 95% of Russian teenagers kept using it. They just moved to VPNs. Same in Iran,» he wrote.

Durov believes that responsibility for children’s digital habits should primarily lie with their parents. He noted that parental controls, screen-time limits and other tools for managing device use are already available.

«Instead, many parents give toddlers iPads just to keep them quiet. No amount of government regulation will fix that,» Durov noted.

Telegram founder also criticized the provisions of the new law requiring social media users to verify their age using an ID, bank card or facial recognition.

He said that such measures raise concerns about user privacy.

«Thousands in the UK are already arrested for political posts every year. Is this really about protecting children — or identifying more people to arrest?» Durov wrote.

Context

The UK government has announced plans to ban children under 16 from using major social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Snapchat and YouTube. To verify users’ ages, ID cards, bank cards and facial recognition technology would be used. Authorities said the initiative is necessary to protect children from harmful content and excessive time spent online.