Paris:

Telegram founder and chief Pavel Durov was headed to court in Paris Wednesday where he could be formally charged, after his initial arrest period for questioning came to an end, a source familiar with the case told AFP.

The Russian-born 39-year-old was arrested at the French capital’s Le Bourget airport late Saturday on suspicion of failing to act against illicit content on 900-million-user social network Telegram, allegations the company itself has denied.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Paris:

Relations between Moscow and Paris have reached a nadir following the arrest of Russian-born Telegram boss Pavel Durov, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday, after the tech billionaire’s detention was extended until Wednesday.

Durov, who has French as well as Russian nationality, was arrested near Paris over the weekend as part of an investigation into crimes related to images of child sex abuse, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform, French prosecutors said on Monday.

It remains unclear if he knew about the threat of arrest in France. Durov’s French lawyer did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Durov’s arrest has plunged Moscow-Paris ties to their lowest level, Lavrov said on Tuesday, capping months of deteriorating relations between the two nations.

French authorities accused Russia of trying to destabilise it ahead of the Paris Olympics in response to its more hawkish stance on the Ukraine war – claims Russia has denied.

Durov’s detention was extended by 48 hours late on Monday, a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday. After that, prosecutors will either need to charge or release him. Should he face charges, his flight risk status is a factor judges have to include in their assessment of possible pretrial detention, according to French law.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday that Russia was ready to provide Durov with all necessary assistance given his Russian citizenship, but that his French citizenship complicated the situation. Durov also holds a UAE passport.

“The charges are very serious indeed,” said Peskov. “They require a no less serious basis of evidence. Otherwise they will be a direct attempt to limit freedom of communication.”

FREE SPEECH DEBATE

Durov’s arrest has sparked a debate about the limits of free speech online, with X-owner Elon Musk saying the right to expression in Europe was under attack. It also underlines a movement by governments around the world to take a tougher line on policing illegal activity that flourishes on some platforms.

Brazil’s supreme court briefly suspended Telegram nationwide in 2022 over its failure to comply with judicial orders.

With close to 1 billion users, Telegram is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It presents itself as a haven for free speech, but is also widely used by far-right, anti-vax and conspiracist movements, as well as political dissidents.

The platform has become crucial to battlefield communications in the war in Ukraine and is used by governments and soldiers on both sides of the war to share war-related news and propaganda.

Without providing evidence, Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, earlier said the United States, through France, was attempting to exert control over Telegram.

“Telegram is one of the few and at the same time the largest Internet platforms over which the United States has no influence,” Volodin said in a post.

“On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, it is important for (President Joe) Biden to take Telegram under control.”

The White House has yet to comment on Durov’s arrest.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is known to be an avid user of the app, has said that the arrest was “in no way a political decision”.

Russia has previously tried, and failed, to block Telegram and fined the company several times for failing to delete what it deemed illegal content.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

There is also no suggestion that Pavel Durov himself was engaged in making any illegal content (file).

The following day, a French judge extended Durov’s initial period of detention, allowing police to detain him for up to 96 hours.

Telegram has rejected the allegations against Durov. In a statement, the company said:

It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.

The case may have far-reaching international implications, not just for Telegram but for other global technology giants as well.

Who is Pavel Durov?

Born in Russia in 1984, Pavel Durov also has French citizenship. This might explain why he felt free to travel despite his app’s role in the Russia-Ukraine War and its widespread use by extremist groups and criminals more generally.

Durov started an earlier social media site, VKontakte, in 2006, which remains very popular in Russia. However, a dispute with how the new owners of the site were operating led to him leaving the company in 2014.

It was shortly before this that Durov created Telegram. This platform provides both the means for communication and exchange as well as the protection of encryption that makes crimes harder to track and tackle than ever before. But that same protection also enables people to resist authoritarian governments that seek to prevent dissent or protest.

Durov also has connections with famed tech figures Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg and enjoys broad support in the vocally libertarian tech community. But his platform is no stranger to legal challenges – even in his birth country.

An odd target

Pavel Durov is in some ways an odd target for French authorities.

Meta’s WhatsApp messenger app is also encrypted and boasts three times as many users, while X’s provocations for hate speech and other problematic content are unrepentantly public and increasingly widespread.

There is also no suggestion that Durov himself was engaged with making any illegal content. Instead, he is accused of indirectly facilitating illegal content by maintaining the app in the first place.

However, Durov’s unique background might go some way to suggest why he was taken in.

Unlike other major tech players, he lacks US citizenship. He hails from a country with a chequered past of internet activity – and a diminished diplomatic standing globally thanks to its war against Ukraine.

His app is large enough to be a global presence. But simultaneously it is not large enough to have the limitless legal resources of major players such as Meta.

Combined, these factors make him a more accessible target to test the enforcement of expanding regulatory frameworks.

A question of moderation

Durov’s arrest marks another act in the often confusing and contradictory negotiation of how much responsibility platforms shoulder for the content on their sites.

These platforms, which include direct messaging platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp but also broader services such as those offered by Meta’s Facebook and Musk’s X, operate across the globe.

As such, they contend with a wide variety of legal environments.

This means any restriction put on a platform ultimately affects its services everywhere in the world – complicating and frequently preventing regulation.

On one side, there is a push to either hold the platforms responsible for illegal content or to provide details on the users who post it.

In Russia, Telegram itself was under pressure to provide names of protesters organising through its app to protest the war against Ukraine.

Conversely, freedom of speech advocates have fought against users being banned from platforms. Meanwhile, political commentators cry foul of being “censored” for their political views.

These contradictions make regulation difficult to craft, while the platforms’ global nature makes enforcement a daunting challenge. This challenge tends to play in platforms’ favour, as they can exercise a relatively strong sense of platform sovereignty in how they decide to operate and develop.

However, these complications can obscure the ways platforms can operate directly as deliberate influencers of public opinion and even publishers of their own content.

To take one example, both Google and Facebook took advantage of their central place in the information economy to advertise politically orientated content to resist the development and implementation of Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code.

The platforms’ construction also directly influences what content can appear and what content is recommended – and hate speech can mark an opportunity for clicks and screen time.

Now, pressure is increasing to hold platforms responsible for how they moderate their users and content. In Europe, recent regulations such as the Media Freedom Act aim to prevent platforms from arbitrarily deleting or banning news producers and their content, while the Digital Services Act requires that these platforms provide mechanisms for removing illegal material.

Australia has its own Online Safety Act to prevent harm through platforms, though the recent case involving X reveals that its capacity may be quite limited.

Future implications

Durov is currently only being detained, and it remains to be seen what, if anything, will happen to him in the coming days.

But if he is charged and successfully prosecuted, it could lay the groundwork for France to take wider actions against not only tech platforms, but also their owners. It could also embolden nations around the world – in the West and beyond – to undertake their own investigations.

In turn, it may also make tech platforms think far more seriously about the criminal content they host.

Timothy Koskie, Postdoctoral researcher, School of Media and Communications, University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation.

Durov was detained Saturday at Le Bourget airport in a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Monday.

It said in a statement that the suspected violations include complicity in selling child sexual abuse material and in drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organised crime transactions and refusing to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.

In France’s first public comment on the arrest, Macron posted on the social media platform X that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”

(Unravel the complexities of our digital world on The Interface podcast, where business leaders and scientists share insights that shape tomorrow’s innovation. The Interface is also available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.)

Denouncing what he called false information, Macron said the arrest “is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”

Durov’s detention was extended until Monday night and can be prolonged until Wednesday evening before authorities must release or charge him, the prosecutor’s office said.

Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Russian government officials have expressed outrage at his detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics because in 2018 Russian authorities themselves tried to block Telegram but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.

Early Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates said that it “is closely following the case” and had asked France to provide Durov “with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner.”

France and the UAE maintain a close military relationship, with the French operating a naval base in Abu Dhabi and Emirati forces using French-built Leclerc tanks and Rafale fighter jets.

Telegram, which says it has nearly a billion users worldwide, was founded by Durov and his brother after he himself faced pressure from the Russian authorities.

In 2013, he sold his stake in VKontakte, a popular Russian social networking site which he launched in 2006.

The company came under pressure amid Russian government’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.

Durov said the authorities demanded that the site take down online communities of Russian opposition activists, and later that it hand over personal data of users who took part in the 2013 popular uprising in Ukraine, which eventually ousted a pro-Kremlin president.

Durov said in a recent interview that he had turned down these demands and left the country.

The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital space, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news.

Telegram also continues to be a popular source of news in Ukraine, where both media outlets and officials use it to share information on the war, and deliver missile and air raid alerts.

In a statement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws, and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post said. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”

A French investigative judge extended Durov’s detention order on Sunday night, French media reported on Monday. Under French law, Durov can remain in custody for questioning for up to four days. After that, judges must decide to either charge him or release him.

The Russian Embassy in Paris said consular officials were denied access to Durov because French authorities view his French citizenship as his primary one. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, “We still don’t know what exactly Durov is being accused of. … Let’s wait until the charges are announced – if they are announced.”

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X who has in the past called himself a “ free speech absolutist,” posted “#freePavel” in support of Durov following the arrest.

Western governments have often criticised Telegram for a lack of content moderation, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of material linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.

In 2022, Germany issued fines of $5 million against Telegram’s operators for failing to establish a lawful way to reporting illegal content or to name an entity in Germany to receive official communication. Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.

Last year, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry into school shootings in November.

New Delhi:

Encrypted messaging app Telegram on Monday said that its CEO Pavel Durov — who was arrested in France — has nothing to hide and “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

In its first reaction after Russian-born Durov was arrested at the Le Bourget airport outside Paris after landing via a private jet for allegedly failing to prevent criminal activities on Telegram, the company said it abides by the EU laws, including the ‘Digital Services Act’.

“Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation,” said the platform which has more than 900 million active users.

“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving,” the company added.

The platform has been a critical source of information for the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. In a rare interview with US political commentator Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said Telegram’s goal is to be a “neutral” platform and resist requests from governments to moderate.

If convicted, Durov faces up to 20 years in prison. According to multiple reports, he was arrested on several charges which involved alleged spread of criminal activity on Telegram which has about 900 million active users.

The billionaire lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An entrepreneur with at least $15.5 billion in his kitty, he left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to ban opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform.

Russia’s embassy in France is taking “immediate steps” to clarify the situation. Telegram offers end-to-end encrypted messaging and users can also set up “channels” to disseminate information quickly to followers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Billionaire Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday (August 24, 2024) evening, TF1 TV said, citing an unnamed source.

Mr. Durov was travelling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France.

Telegram did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.