What happened
Prosecutors in Paris filed preliminary charges yesterday against Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and CEO of Telegram. The 39-year-old tech billionaire was arrested last weekend in an investigation dating back to February. The six charges include complicity in organized crime and criminal distribution of child pornography on his messaging app — allegations he denies — and refusal to cooperate with authorities.
Who said what
The charges are a "rare move by legal authorities to hold a top technology executive personally liable" for the behavior of social media users, The New York Times said, and the case has "intensified a long-simmering debate about free speech on the internet" and the responsibility of tech platforms. Both "free-speech advocates and authoritarian governments have spoken in Durov's defense," The Associated Press said.
David-Olivier Kaminski, a lawyer for Durov, told French media it was "totally absurd" that "the person in charge of a social network could be implicated in criminal acts that don't concern him, directly or indirectly."
What next?
Durov was released on 5 million euros ($5.5 million) bail. He is prohibited from leaving France and must report to a police station twice a week. A "swift resolution" is "unlikely," the Times said. It could "take years" for the judges overseeing the case to proceed to trial or drop the charges.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Bolton indictment: Retribution or justice?Feature Trump’s former national security adviser turned critic, John Bolton, was indicted for mishandling classified information after publishing his ‘tell-all’ memoir
-
Chicago: Scenes from a city under siegeFeature Chicago is descending into chaos as masked federal agents target people in public spaces and threaten anyone who tries to document the arrests
-
Young Republicans: Does the GOP have a Nazi problem?Feature Leaked chats from members of the Young Republican National Federation reveal racist slurs and Nazi jokes
-
7 charged in LA for 'largest jewelry heist in US history'Speed Read The purported thieves stole an estimated $100 million worth of items
-
The violent turn 'pedophile hunters' have taken in the USIn the Spotlight These influencers have taken catching predators to another level
-
Texas set to execute dad in disputed 'shaken baby' caseSpeed Read Robert Roberson's hotly contested execution would be the first ever tied to shaken baby syndrome
-
Missouri executes man despite DA's objectionSpeed Read Marcellus Williams maintained his innocence and the killing was opposed by the victim's family
-
FBI: US violent crime falls again, hits pre-Covid levelsSpeed Read A wide-ranging report found that violent crime dropped 3% in the last year, while murder dropped 11.6%
-
Sean 'Diddy' Combs arrested on federal chargesSpeed Read The hip-hop star was hit with sex trafficking and racketeering charges
-
DOJ charges 2 in white nationalist 'Terrorgram' plotFeds say Dallas Humber and Matthew Allison were plotting assassinations through a terrorist network on Telegram
-
Hunter Biden pleads guilty to tax chargesSpeed Read In an unexpected move, President Joe Biden's son pleads guilty to tax fraud and avoids a trial
