Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov speaks at a press conference in 2017.
Tatan Syuflana/AP
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Tatan Syuflana/AP
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov remains in custody in France in connection with a criminal investigation into the messaging app’s failure to cooperate with law enforcement requests, Paris authorities said. announced on Monday.
Durov, who lives mainly in Dubai, was arrested on Saturday at Le Bourget Airport, north of Paris, after he got off his private jet, which had departed from Azerbaijan.
While French media reported Durov’s arrest over the weekend, prosecutors in Paris confirmed the reports on Monday and added some details.
Prosecutors said they opened an investigation last month into an “unnamed person” for violations including distributing child pornography, trafficking in illegal drugs and failing to cooperate with authorities in an investigation into organized fraud.
It is not known whether Durov was questioned as the main target of the investigation or as an accomplice.
“The crux of the matter is the lack of moderation and cooperation on the part of the platform,” said Jean-Michel Bernigaud, a senior police official in France. wrote on LinkedIn. “Especially in the fight against child pornography.”
It is not yet clear whether Durov is being held on suspicion of any of these crimes, but under French law, authorities said they could detain the tech billionaire for questioning until Wednesday or for 96 hours.
In a statement, Telegram responded to the arrest by saying it was “absurd” to hold Durov responsible for people abusing the platform, noting that the app complies with all European Union laws.
Durov, 39, founded Telegram in 2013 as a secure way to communicate outside the reach of authoritarian regimes. The app has skyrocketed in popularity, amassing more than 900 million users, making it one of the most used messaging services in the world.
One of Telegram’s standout features is its hands-off approach to content censorship.
That has drawn criticism from researchers, who have long condemned Telegram for failing to take action against groups, known as “channels” on the app, that serve as recruiting hubs for terrorist organizations, including ISIS and Hamas.
Former Facebook executive Brian Fishman, who studied counterterrorism, wrote on Threads that Telegram has ignored law enforcement requests to investigate terrorist groups and child pornography for years.
“Telegram is on another level,” Fishman wrote. “It’s a completely different approach.”
For French internet researchers and law enforcement, Durov’s questioning was about Telegram’s alleged refusal to comply with government requests. But for advocates of free speech online, arresting a tech executive for content appearing on the platform is a form of free speech censorship.
Elon Musk think about X that the future could include “being executed for liking a meme” and someone claiming to be Edward Snowden described Durov’s arrest is a violation of his “fundamental human rights to speech and association.” Writing on X, Snowden said Durov’s detention was akin to “taking hostages to access private communications.”
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron defended his country’s arrest and questioning of Durov.
“The arrest of the Telegram president on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is not a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide on this matter,” Macron wrote on X.
