Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and CEO of messaging platform Telegram, has been at the center of a labyrinthine legal and political storm following his recent arrest at Paris’s Le Bourget airport. His weekend arrest, though, has continued to create major movements, with French authorities now extending the detention of Durov and broadening an international reaction to it.
Durov, 39, was taken in on suspicion he had been enabling criminals to organize all sorts of crimes, including money laundering and drug trafficking, among others, with the help of Telegram. His detention was initially set to last 96 hours, but an investigating magistrate extended it beyond Sunday night. It will develop on the backdrop of several accusations and a continuing probe by France’s OFMIN, which is charged with the protection of children, against violence.
Telegram is one of the heavyweight messaging apps worldwide. It was created in 2013 by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai; at present, it is close to having 1 billion active users. Being designed for large group capacities and the use of encrypted messaging, it is gaining worldwide popularity, yet at the same time it is coming under strong criticism for its alleged promotion of illegal content and activities. The French investigation reportedly focuses on the moderation practices of the messenger and whether it has failed to prevent the misuse of its platform for criminal purposes.
Durov had flown in Paris from Azerbaijan on his private jet, and the French order concerned investigation flowing from a criminal complaint over his failure to use Telegram, the source said, to identify violent communication threatening daily life and communicating identities and credits of terrorist groups and promoting dissuasion or apologia of acts of terror.
Telegram has since refuted these reports. The company, in a statement, underlined its compliance with European laws, in particular the Digital Services Act, and argued that the accusations were “absurd.” The company states it does not in any way bear responsibility for misuse of its platform, as it provides support for adequate industry-compatible moderation practices. The company has demanded that the issue be solved as soon as possible, arguing that it has “nothing to hide,” since Durov often travels around Europe.
His arrest caused a stir at home and far beyond. The Russian embassy in Paris expressed a demand for access to Durov and that he be properly protected. It was carried by the embassy that it resented what it regards as the silence on the part of the French authorities and had already been in touch with Durov’s attorney.
The Russian officials have come out bashing the French actions, with Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, accusing France of moving towards a “totalitarian” society. Ulyanov said this in the light of general displeasure within Russia over the detention of Durov, particularly in light of Telegram’s role in delivering unfiltered information about the Russia-Ukraine war. The app is now an important source of information for both sides of the conflict, and it is an essential tool for officials and commentators in both countries.
Another, more high-profile support for Durov, came from the outside – from Elon Musk, entrepreneur billionaire behind Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, who tweeted against the detention of Durov:. The CEO lambasted the arrest, suggesting that it falls within the framework of a disturbing trend of heavy-handed treatment against free speech. Similarly, the former NSA contractor in exile in Russia, Edward Snowden, saw the detention as a blow to the very basic of human rights, in this case freedom of speech and association.
The impact of Durov’s arrest does not resonate solely in the legal and political spheres. The arrest literally put a spin into financial markets: cryptocurrency related to Telegram, Toncoin, depreciated by as much as 23% on the news. In reality, this latest investigation would reflect more broadly on how this would affect Telegram and its related assets.
The path from Russia to Dubai, where Telegram’s headquarters moved, was not an easy one. In 2014, after leaving Russia under pressure from Russian authorities, Durov later cashed out his share in VKontakte, a social network he’d co-founded. One of the key reasons Durov based Telegram in Dubai is because he needed more neutrality in business over the government’s pressure.
Telegram’s policy on content moderation has always been a controversial issue in many countries. While some view the end-to-end encryption of the platform as maintaining user privacy, others have criticized it for offering safe harbors to host and promote content that is extreme in nature and allows the distribution of disinformation. This policy, coupled with the ability to create large groups and the lack of moderation within has resulted in the accusation that the site aids in the distribution of illegal content and false information.
SOURCES
- https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/08/france-extends-detention-of-telegram-chief-durov/amp/
- https://fortune.com/2024/08/25/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-arrest-france-eu-laws-content-moderation/
- https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2024/8/25/telegram-messaging-app-ceo-pavel-durov-arrested-in-france
