Durov Accuses Meta of Trying to Undermine Telegram

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has accused Indian telecom giant Reliance of sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users and linked the alleged activity to Meta’s investment in the company.

In a post on X, Durov claimed that Reliance was disrupting access to Telegram for users outside India by using a technique known as BGP hijacking.

“The sabotage appears to have been intentional, as Reliance ignored multiple reports,” he wrote.

BGP hijacking is a malicious technique used to reroute internet traffic. Attackers falsely claim ownership of IP address ranges they do not control, allowing them to redirect traffic through their own networks.

This can prevent users from accessing online services because the traffic never reaches its intended destination.

“This may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partly owned by Meta, the company behind WhatsApp,” Durov alleged.

The comment refers to the close ties between the two companies. Meta recently expanded its partnership with Reliance through plans to build and lease a 168-megawatt AI-focused data center in India. The deal builds on Meta’s $5.7 billion investment in Reliance’s telecom and digital arm, Jio Platforms, made in 2020.

The companies have also deepened their collaboration through initiatives that give Indian businesses and developers access to Meta’s open-source AI models.

“Network operators are advised to reject unauthorized BGP announcements from Reliance (AS18101) to prevent route hijacking and ensure stable internet access for their users,” Durov added.

He further stated:

“Such abuse of global internet routing is alarming. I wouldn’t be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind recent lobbying efforts to ban Telegram in India.”

Durov’s comments came shortly after Telegram failed to overturn an Indian government order temporarily banning the messaging platform. The restriction was imposed over allegations that exam-related materials had been distributed through the service.

Jio denied any involvement in the alleged incident in its own statement on X.

“Recent posts on X have led to speculation regarding Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (AS55836) and a BGP route misconfiguration. We categorically state that Jio was not involved in any such incident. Jio continues to operate its network in accordance with global internet routing best practices and the highest standards of reliability, security, and transparency,” the company said.

Telegram has more than 150 million users in India and considers the country its largest market. The company fought the temporary ban in court, arguing that it had already removed more than 900 links containing illegal exam-related content.