French authorities have detained Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at an airport north of Paris.
Mr. Durov was held after landing his private plane at Le Bourget Airport, according to French media.
According to authorities, the 39-year-old millionaire was detained on a warrant for crimes involving the famous chat app. The probe purportedly concerns a lack of moderation, with Mr. Durov accused of neglecting to take action to prevent illicit use of Telegram.
The app is accused of failing to assist with law enforcement in cases involving drug trafficking, child sexual material, and fraud. Telegram had previously denied having insufficient moderation.
Pavel Durov was born in Russia and currently resides in Dubai. He holds dual citizenship in the UAE and France.
Telegram is very popular in Russia, Ukraine, and the former Soviet Union republics.
The app was banned in Russia in 2018 following his earlier reluctance to hand over customer data. The prohibition was lifted in 2021.
Telegram is recognized as one of the top social media networks, following Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and WeChat.
Mr. Durov started Telegram in 2013. He fled Russia in 2014 after refusing to cooperate with Kremlin orders to close down opposition communities on his social media network, VKontakte, which he sold.
On Sunday, the Russian Embassy in France said on Facebook that it was working to “clarify the reasons for the detention, provide for the protection of Mr. Durov’s rights, and facilitate consular access.”.
The post further stated that French authorities had not cooperated with Russian officials.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked on Telegram whether Western human rights NGOs would remain silent about Mr. Durov’s detention after they criticized Russia’s decision to “create obstacles” to Telegram’s functioning in Russia in 2018.
Several Russian officials decried the businessman’s detention, saying it demonstrated the West’s double standards about free speech and democracy.
Edward Snowden, an American whistleblower who has been living in exile in Russia since 2013, said on X that Mr. Durov’s detention “was an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association.”.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has faced widespread criticism for his moderating and content displayed on his own social networking platform. He has commented on the matter several times.
He hashtagged one post with #freepavel and wrote in another, “[Point of view: It’s 2030 in Europe, and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
Telegram permits groups of up to 200,000 members, which opponents believe facilitates the propagation of disinformation and the sharing of conspiracist, neo-Nazi, paedophilic, or terror-related content.
In the United Kingdom, the app was investigated for hosting far-right channels that helped organise the violent disturbance in English cities earlier this month.
Telegram did delete some organizations, but cybersecurity experts believe its method for monitoring extremist and illegal information is substantially weaker than that of other social media corporations and message applications.
