French prosecutors charge Telegram's Durov

The case has elicited debate about the responsibility of tech platforms

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

published 29 August 2024

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.

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."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.