Pavel Durov, CEO of messaging app Telegram, has been arrested in France.
Officials said the arrest was based on a warrant for crimes related to the app, and the investigation is reportedly into insufficient moderation, with Durov accused of failing to take measures to curb criminal use of Telegram.
“It is absurd to claim that the platform or its owners are responsible for misuse of its platform,” Telegram said in a statement.
Who is Pavel Durov?
Durov, 39, is a billionaire from Russia.
He founded VKontakte, a popular Russian social media company.
In 2014, Durov refused entry to Russia and left the country. Complying with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the platform.
He founded Telegram a year earlier and currently runs the company from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he currently lives.
He holds UAE and French citizenship, but Russia says it still considers him a national.
According to Telegram, Durov travels frequently to Europe.
In an interview with conservative US media personality Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said he would refuse requests from authorities to remove content from his platform.
“We will ignore anything that we believe crosses the line – anything that we believe is inconsistent with our values of free speech and protecting private communications,” he said.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is one of the world's largest social media and messaging platforms, alongside Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.
Durov claimed in July that Telegram had 950 million monthly active users. The app is popular in Russia and Ukraine and is also used by pro-democracy groups in Iran and Hong Kong.
Telegram offers encryption so messages can only be read on the sending and receiving devices, but this is not a default setting for users.
A big difference between Telegram and similar services like WhatsApp is the size of the groups you can join on Telegram.
WhatsApp limits group size to 1,000 users, while Telegram allows up to 200,000 people to join a group.
The platform has faced criticism that misinformation can spread within these large groups.
Critics claim that conspiracy theories, neo-Nazi, pedophile and terrorism-related content is shared on the platform.
French authorities reportedly said the investigation into Durov concerns the app's failure to cooperate with law enforcement in relation to drug trafficking, child sexual abuse and fraud.
The app has come under scrutiny in Britain for hosting far-right channels that played a key role in organizing riots in English cities this month, and cybersecurity experts say its moderation of extremist and illegal content is significantly weaker than other social media companies and messaging apps.
Following Durov's arrest, Telegram said its moderation was “within industry standards and is constantly improving.”
The company said it complies with European Union law, including the Digital Services Act, which aims to ensure a safe and responsible online environment.
“Nearly one billion users around the world rely on Telegram for communication and essential information sources,” a statement from the app read.
“We await a quick resolution to this situation. Telegram stands with you.”
What is being said about Durov's arrest?
French authorities have yet to provide details on what exact charges Durov was arrested on in connection with Telegram.
But it's fairly unprecedented for owners of social media and messaging platforms to be arrested for the content on their platforms.
Elon Musk posted #FreePavel on X along with a video of the Telegram founder talking with Carlson about the changes he made after the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire bought the site formerly known as Twitter.
Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed widespread internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence agencies and now lives in Russia, said on X that Durov's arrest was “a violation of the fundamental human rights of speech and association.”
He added: “I am shocked and deeply saddened. [French President Emmanuel] Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages to gain access to private communications. This is a disgrace not only to France but to the world.”