Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging platform Telegram, revealed he refused a request from French intelligence to censor conservative political content ahead of Romania's presidential election. The revelation came in a Telegram post on May 18, just one day before Romanian voters went to the polls.

In his post, Durov initially did not name the Western European country that made the censorship request. Instead, he hinted at France with a baguette emoji.

"Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels,"Durov wrote firmly.

The situation unfolded as Romania prepared for its presidential election. The vote resulted in Nicusor Dan, a mathematician and liberal mayor of Bucharest, defeating right-wing nationalist opponent George Simion.