Bangladesh, May 19 -- In an unfolding political drama that raises critical questions about the limits of government influence over digital platforms and freedom of expression, Elon Musk has publicly praised Telegram founder Pavel Durov for resisting an alleged French government request to censor political content on his messaging platform. The incident underscores the rising tension between state authorities and independent tech leaders over control of online discourse-especially in the heat of politically sensitive moments like national elections.

On May 18, the same day Romanians went to the polls for a presidential runoff, Pavel Durov disclosed that he had declined a Western European governments request to shut down certain Romanian T...