TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Russia's Federal Security Service on Wednesday said it had charged Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of the Telegram messaging app, with aiding terrorist activities. Why is Russia charging Durov? Soon after the news of the warrant broke, Telegram's account on X posted a picture of Durov giving a middle finger to the camera. The Russian-born billionaire Durov, now based in Dubai, built the Telegram messaging app with his brother Nikolai and launched it in 2013. Durov has promoted Telegram as a defender of privacy and free speech, while critics say weak moderation has allowed propaganda, disinformation and criminal activity to flourish.