France arrests CEO of Telegram

Pavel Durov in Spain in 2016 — Durov's detention drew strong criticism from Russia, free-speech advocates and far-right figures

(Image credit: AOP.Press / Corbis via Getty Images)

What happened

Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France today as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. He was detained two days ago when his private jet landed near Paris. Durov, a dual citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates, left his native Russia in 2014 amid a Kremlin crackdown on his previous company, the Facebook-like Vkontakte.

Durov, 39, was detained as part of a preliminary investigation into criminal activity — from child pornography to cyberscams and organized crime — allegedly enabled by Telegram's minimal content moderation, French newspaper Le Monde said. Telegram said in a statement that "Durov has nothing to hide," and it's "absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."

Durov's detention also drew strong criticism from Russia, free-speech advocates and far-right figures. "Telegram's light oversight" of content has "helped people living under authoritarian governments communicate and organize," The New York Times said. "But it has also made the app a haven for disinformation, far-right extremism," drug trafficking, "terrorist propaganda" and other "harmful content."

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