French authorities detained Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of the encrypted messaging platform. French media, including Le Monde, reported that Durov was arrested at Le Bourget airport, just north of Paris. He had just landed in his private jet after flying in from Azerbaijan.
Sources close to the case, cited by Le Monde, confirmed Durov’s arrest. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, also confirmed this in a Telegram post.
Search warrant issued
Reports show that France’s L’Office Mineurs (OFMIN), the agency responsible for handling crimes involving minors, has issued a search warrant as part of an initial investigation into Telegram.
According to AFP, the alleged crimes include fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, and organized crime. Many reports suggest the investigation stems from claims that Telegram hasn’t moderated content properly.
OFMIN is handling the investigation into Durov and Telegram. The messaging platform’s CEO was supposed to appear in court on Aug. 25. Some reports indicate that Durov might be facing a prison sentence of up to 20 years, depending on the seriousness of the charges against him.
Liberté? Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin react
On Aug. 24, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and owner of X, shared an old interview between Pavel Durov and independent journalist Tucker Carlson on his social media platform. He used the hashtag #FreePavel.
In the video, Durov mentioned that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has greatly boosted tech innovation and the free speech landscape. Moreover, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin chimed in, responding to an X post by American entrepreneur and investor Balaji Srinivasan.
Telegram’s privacy under the spotlight
With details about Durov’s arrest and the ongoing investigation still unclear, there are growing concerns about Telegram’s privacy features. GrapheneOS, a company focused on open-source privacy and security, has raised red flags about Telegram’s access to group and individual chats.
GrapheneOS mentioned that Telegram could potentially share individual and group messages with French authorities.
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