The investigation reportedly focuses on Telegram's poor moderation, which has allegedly allowed fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, and terrorism
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested at an airport near Paris by the French police. According to media reports, Durov was detained due to accusations related to his popular messaging app, specifically for failing to prevent illegal activities on the platform. He is scheduled to appear in court today, August 25.
Media reports say that the 39-year-old billionaire was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris. According to Reuters, the investigation is centered on the inadequate moderation within Telegram. This, in turn, gave allowance to criminal activities to go on in the platform, adds the report.
According to AFP, Durov's arrest order was issued by OFMIN, a French body that seeks to prevent violence against minors. Fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organised crime, and the encouragement of terrorism are among the claimed offenses. Meanwhile, investigators have experienced surprise that Durov visited France despite knowing that he was wanted. An investigator reportedly told AFP, “Enough of Telegram's impunity.”
While the French ministry didn’t comment on the issue, the Russian ministry said that it is taking steps to clarify the situation.
Who is Pavel Durov?
Born in Russia, Durov is the founder of the famous social media app Telegram, which reportedly has more than 900 million active users worldwide. The social media messaging platform seeks to compete with apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok.
As per Forbes, Durov’s real-time net worth is $15.5 billion. Durov left Russia in 2014 after declining to comply with the Russian government's request to shut down opposition groups on VKontakte (a social media platform founded by him).
In 2017, Durov moved to Dubai, and Telegram is also based out of the same country. As per AFP, Durov tried to settle in various locations, such as Berlin, London, Singapore, and San Francisco. Eventually, he chose Dubai due to its favorable business environment. In 2021, he became a French citizen.
Telegram has become an important messaging platform when it comes to exchanging information about the Russia-Ukraine war. Durov has always talked highly about the importance of ‘privacy’ in his messaging platform. The platform time and again mentions that it doesn’t disclose the data of its users. Additionally, the platform also allows groups of users that are as large as 2,000 members.
However, it also led to criticism from several countries, including France. The platform has been accused of facilitating the spread of false information due to its feature that allows large groups to form easily.
Meanwhile, after Durov’s arrest, Tesla CEO Elon Musk extended this support for the Telegram CEO with the hashtag #FreePavel on social media platform Z. The hashtag #FreePavel is trending on the social media platform X, with several users sharing it.
Independent White House candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also extended his support for Pavel on X. He wrote, “France just arrested Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the encrypted, uncensored Telegram platform. The need to protect free speech has never been more urgent.”