The CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram was arrested at Le Bourget airport on Saturday evening for refusing to comply with censorship laws.
Pavel Durov, 39, was arrested on the tarmac as he got off his private jet from Azerbaijan.
BREAKING: #Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested by French authorities.
Early official comments to French media suggest this follows from France’s displeasure with Telegram’s moderation & compliance with official requests(?).
If so, I’m pretty sure this is an unprecedented action… pic.twitter.com/hKa1Ip0buD
— John Scott-Railton (@jsrailton) August 24, 2024
According to a machine translation of a report on TF1, “The Justice considers that the lack of moderation, cooperation with the police and the tools offered by Telegram (disposable number, cryptocurrencies, etc.) makes it complicit in drug trafficking, paedophile offences and fraud.”
“Investigators from the ONAF (National Anti-Fraud Office attached to the Customs Directorate) notified him and placed him in police custody. He is expected to be presented to an investigating judge this Saturday evening before a possible indictment on Sunday for a multitude of offences: terrorism, drugs, complicity, fraud, money laundering, concealment, paedophile content…” the report continued.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said that the FBI expressed interest in creating a ‘backdoor’ into the Telegram app, ostensibly to spy on users.
As Gateway previously reported, this revelation highlights the U.S. government’s purported efforts to undermine Telegram’s promises of privacy and security.
WATCH:
Telegram founder @durov explains to @TuckerCarlson how the US government tried to secretly hire his engineer to create “back doors” for officials to spy on users.
“For us running a privacy focused social media platform that probably wasn’t the best environment to be in.” pic.twitter.com/d8sFvmDuk4
— Tucker Carlson Network (@TCNetwork) April 16, 2024
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