Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been arrested by French police at an airport north of Paris. Durov was detained after his private jet landed at Le Bourget Airport. He was arrested based on a warrant related to issues with the popular messaging app, according to French media.
Russia’s embassy in France is working to understand the situation. Durov was traveling on his private jet when he was arrested. Telegram, which is popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet Union countries, was banned in Russia in 2018 due to Durov’s refusal to share user data, but the ban was lifted in 2021.
Durov founded Telegram in 2013 and left Russia in 2014 after refusing to shut down opposition groups on his VKontakte social media platform, which he sold.
Telegram CEO Arrested in Paris
The CEO of Telegram has been arrested at an airport in Paris. Durov was wanted under a French arrest warrant because of the lack of moderation on Telegram. This lack of moderation allegedly led to money laundering, drug trafficking, and sharing harmful content. France issued the warrant for Durov, charging him with complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children, and fraud due to these issues on Telegram and his failure to cooperate with law enforcement.
My colleague, Mohammad Ghazali, is here with more details. Ghazali, what are the charges against the Telegram CEO? The investigation focused on the alleged lack of content moderation on Telegram, which the police claim allowed criminal activity to thrive. The CEO is a Russian citizen, so Russia’s foreign ministry is seeking more information about the arrest. They are trying to understand the reasons behind it. However, French authorities have remained quiet and have not issued any statements.
This situation brings attention to chat-based apps and their privacy and content moderation issues. These concerns are why the CEO of Telegram was arrested at an airport near Paris.
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