Pavel Durov, the 39-year-old Russian billionaire and founder of Telegram, was arrested on Saturday evening at Le Bourget airport near Paris. The detention came immediately after the landing of Durov’s private plane coming from Azerbaijan. Durov is reportedly involved in an investigation into Telegram’s content moderation issues, possibly allowing criminal activities.
According to Reuters, the French authorities acted upon an already issued warrant by intercepting Durov’s name from the passenger manifest. The arrest is said to be connected to concerns that the content moderation practices of Telegram might have promoted illegal activities. It includes terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and child exploitation.
The Dubai-based company replied that it does everything possible for observing EU regulation, including the Act on Digital Services. It defended the moderation practices as “within industry standards and constantly improving,” and dismissed any claims that Durov or the platform is responsible for any type of abuse.
Public and official reactions
The case has drawn wide condemnation. Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, came out in support with a “#FreePavel” hashtag, saying free speech in Europe is at stake. Russian officials have called for consular access; Durov holds dual citizenship of France and the UAE.
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Background on Pavel Durov
Pavel Durov, sometimes called the “Russian Mark Zuckerberg,” launched Telegram in 2013 after having emigrated from Russia over conflicts with the authorities for his refusal to shut down opposition communities on his earlier social network, VK.
Although Russia banned Telegram from 2018 to 2020 for refusing to grant state security services access to users’ messages, the platform has experienced rapid growth. It now has almost 1 billion users and has become an essential tool for communication, especially in Ukraine since the 2022 Russian invasion.
Encryption practices under scrutiny
The arrest has also raised questions about Telegram’s encryption practices yet again. While WhatsApp and Signal provide end-to-end encryption for one-on-one or group chats, Telegram does not. The arrest of Durov raised concerns about the Telegraph platform, as staff could access all messages sent on the platform. This heightened alarm is due to potential privacy breaches and unauthorized access to private messages by Telegraph staff.