Reason why Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested
French officials have arrested Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at an airport north of Paris. Mr Durov was arrested after landing his private jet at Le Bourget Airport, according to French media. According to officials, the 39-year-old billionaire was arrested on a warrant for offenses involving the famous chat app. The investigations is supposedly concerned a lack of moderation, with Mr Durov accused of ignoring to take action to prevent prohibited use of Telegram. The app is accused of failed to cooperate with law enforcement in cases involving drug trafficking, child sexual content, and fraud. Telegram previously denied having insufficient moderation.
Pavel Durov was born in Russia and currently resides in Dubai, where Telegram is situated. He holds dual citizenship in the UAE and France.
Telegram is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet Union states. The app was banned in Russia in 2018, following his previous refusal to hand over user data. The ban was reversed in 2021.
🚨 Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France, and could face 20 years in jail. pic.twitter.com/8j5E0VA4cW
— Indian Tech & Infra (@IndianTechGuide) August 25, 2024
Credit : X/India Tech & Infra
Telegram is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat. Mr Durov launched Telegram in 2013. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to cooperate with the Russian government orders to shut down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media network, which he sold.
On Sunday, the Russian Embassy in France posted on Facebook that it was working to “clarify the reasons for the detention, provide for the protection of Mr Durov’s rights, and facilitate consular access”. The post further stated that French authorities had not cooperated with Russian officials. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked on Telegram if Western human rights NGOs would remain silent about Mr Durov’s arrest after they criticized Russia’s decision to “create obstacles” to Telegram’s work in Russia in 2018.
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Several Russian officials criticized the businessman’s arrest, saying it demonstrated the West’s double standards about free speech and democracy. Edward Snowden, an American whistleblower who has been living in exile in Russia since 2013, said on X that Mr Durov’s detention “was an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association”.
Elon Musk on Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrest
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has faced severe criticism for moderating and content displayed on his own social media platform. He has commented on the matter several times. He hashtagged one post with #freepavel and wrote in another: “POV [Point of View]: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.” Telegram permits groups of up to 200,000 members, which opponents believe facilitates the propagation of misinformation and the sharing of conspiracist, neo-Nazi, paedophilic, or terror-related content.
In the United Kingdom, the app was investigated for hosting far-right channels that helped organise the violent disturbance in English cities earlier this month. Telegram did delete some groups, but cybersecurity experts believe its method for monitoring extremist and illegal information is substantially weaker than that of other social media corporations and message apps.
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