Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, was taken into custody by French authorities at an airport located to the north of Paris. According to French media, Mr. Durov was taken into custody following his private jet’s landing at Le Bourget Airport. Officials claim that the 39-year-old billionaire was taken into custody on a warrant for offenses involving the well-known chat app.
According to reports, the probe concerns a deficiency of moderators, and Mr. Durov is charged with neglecting to take action to prevent illicit uses of Telegram. Mr. Durov resides in Dubai and was born in Russia. He is a dual citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates.
In particular, Telegram is well-liked in the former Soviet Union states of Russia and Ukraine.
2018 saw the app banned in Russia due to Mr. Durov’s prior refusal to provide user data. However, the prohibition was lifted in 2021. One of the most popular social media networks, following Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and Wechat, is Telegram.
After starting Telegram in 2013 and selling his social media network VKontakte, Mr. Durov departed Russia in 2014, defying government orders to close down opposition communities on the platform.
Speaking on Telegram, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova questioned whether Western human rights organizations would remain silent about Mr. Durov’s detention following their criticism of Russia for attempting to “create obstacles” to Telegram’s operations in the country in 2018.
The businessman’s arrest has been denounced by a number of Russian leaders.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has frequently blogged on the problem despite drawing a lot of criticism for the moderation and content his own social media platform hosts. He added, “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” in one post and included the hashtag #freepavel in another.
