Telegram CEO arrested for ‘miscalculated’ visit to France

Russian-born Telegram CEO Pavel Durov faces up to four days in prison following his arrest in France, pending an investigation into allegations that his platform facilitates terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and fraud.

Durov was arrested on Saturday after landing in Paris on his private jet and taken into custody, which could last up to 96 hours. The Guardian reported“End Telegram’s impunity,” one of the investigators was quoted as saying in the report.

Durov has been a French citizen since 2021 but lives in exile – mainly in Dubai – where Telegram is currently headquartered. French investigators say Durov failed to take action against illegal activities on Telegram, a platform that has come under increasing scrutiny for allowing “hate speech, disinformation, the sharing of child abuse images and other illegal content,” the report said.

The platform's “unbreakable” end-to-end encryption has also made it a popular medium for extremists and conspiracy theorists, it said. Telegram has also proven to be an important platform for information about Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and is frequently used by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russians seeking “unfiltered” updates on the ongoing war, it said.

French authorities tasked with preventing violence against minors had an arrest warrant for Durov, leading some to question his decision to land in Paris. “He miscalculated,” Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's security council, told The Guardian.

Durov's arrest, meanwhile, sparked an outcry over free speech and drew criticism from former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The arrest of @Durov is an attack on the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and association. I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has gone so far as to take hostages to gain access to private communications. This is humiliating not only France but the whole world.

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) 25 August 2024

Meanwhile, Telegram said in a opinion on Monday that Durov “has nothing to hide” and that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”

Read the full report: The Guardian

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Vishakha Saxena

Vishakha Saxena is a Multimedia and Social Media Editor at Asia Financial. She has been working as a digital journalist since 2013 and is an experienced writer and multimedia producer. As a trader and investor, she has a keen interest in the new economy, emerging markets and the intersection of finance and society. You can write to her at [email protected]