Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, has warned that banning social media for teenagers does not protect them but instead exposes them to greater dangers online.

Durov made the remarks while reacting to the United Kingdom government’s new law restricting teenagers under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms.

According to him, prohibiting access to social media would push young users toward encrypted channels and unregulated parts of the internet where harmful activities are more difficult to monitor.

“Banning social media for teenagers only puts them in greater danger,” he wrote on his X page.

Drawing from Russia’s attempt to block Telegram, Durov argued that such restrictions rarely achieve their intended goals.

“We’ve seen this before. When the Russian government banned Telegram, 95% of Russian teenagers kept using it. They just moved to VPNs,” he wrote.

The Telegram chief also criticised mandatory age-verification measures, including the use of identity documents, facial scans, and bank cards to confirm users’ ages. He questioned whether such requirements were truly designed to protect children.

“All social media users in the UK will have to ‘prove’ they’re over 16 with an ID, face scan or bank card.

“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 maintained that parents, rather than governments, should take primary responsibility for managing children’s online activities.

“No law can replace good parenting. Parents already have the tools to limit kids’ digital consumption: parental controls, screen-time limits, or no smartphone at all.

“Instead, many parents give toddlers iPads just to keep them quiet. No amount of regulation will fix that.”