Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested at French airport

Telegram chief govt Pavel Durov has been arrested by French police at an airport north of Paris.

Mr Durov was detained after his non-public jet had landed at Le Bourget Airport, French media reported.

In response to officers the 39-year-old billionaire was arrested beneath a warrant for offences associated to the favored messaging app. The investigation is reportedly a couple of lack of moderation, with Mr Durov accused of failing to take steps to curb felony makes use of of Telegram.

The app is accused of failure to cooperate with regulation enforcement over drug trafficking, little one sexual content material and fraud. Telegram has beforehand denied having inadequate moderation.

Pavel Durov was born in Russia and now lives in Dubai, the place Telegram relies. He holds twin citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.

Telegram is especially in style in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet Union states.

The app was banned in Russia in 2018, after a earlier refusal by him handy over person knowledge. The ban was reversed in 2021.

Telegram is ranked as one of many main social media platforms after Fb, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.

Mr Durov based Telegram in 2013. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to adjust to authorities calls for to close down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform, which he bought.

On Sunday, the Russian Embassy in France wrote on Fb that it was searching for to “make clear the explanations for the detention and to supply for the safety of Mr Durov’s rights and facilitate consular entry”.

The publish added that French authorities had not been cooperating with Russian officers.

Russian Overseas ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram asking whether or not Western human rights NGOs could be silent on Mr Durov’s arrest, after they criticised Russia’s determination to “create obstacles” to the work of Telegram in Russia in 2018.

A number of Russian officers condemned the businessman’s arrest, saying it confirmed the West has double requirements in the case of free speech and democracy.

American whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been dwelling in exile in Russia since 2013, stated on X that Mr Durov’s arrest “was an assault on the essential human rights of speech and affiliation”.

X proprietor Elon Musk, who has confronted in depth criticism over moderation and materials hosted by his personal social media website, posted repeatedly concerning the scenario.

He hashtagged one publish #freepavel, and in one other wrote: “POV [Point of view]: It’s 2030 in Europe and also you’re being executed for liking a meme.”

Telegram permits teams of as much as 200,000 members, which critics have argued makes it simpler for misinformation to unfold, and for customers to share conspiracist, neo-Nazi, paedophilic, or terror-related content material.

Within the UK, the app was scrutinised for internet hosting far-right channels that had been instrumental in organising the violent dysfunction in English cities earlier this month.

Telegram did take away some teams, however general its system of moderating extremist and unlawful content material is considerably weaker than that of different social media corporations and messenger apps, say cybersecurity consultants.

Correction: An earlier model of this story misidentified Pavel Durov’s lawyer. It has been up to date to take away the reference.