Founder of Telegram App Arrested in France

French authorities announced on 26 August that they had arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov because the messaging and social app enabled child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions.

Officials from EU countries as well as other Western democracies have often criticized founders of online platforms for the content that is shared on them; however, the arrest of Durov marks a significant escalation of government reaction. Telegram, under Durov’s leadership, rebuffed efforts to curtail the amount of illegal, dangerous, or false information posted in the app, saying the app would be devoted to free speech. The company touts its messaging encryption technology and says it has never disclosed user data to third parties, including governments.

As reported in The New York Times, French President Emmanuel Macron said France was “deeply committed to freedom of expression” but that “in a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life.”

The Times article continued: “Mr. Durov’s arrest has caused a firestorm, turning him into a folk hero among those concerned about free speech and government censorship, especially as scrutiny of online content has increased globally.” Among those criticizing the arrest on free speech and censorship grounds are the owner of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk and Edward Snowden.

Telegram released statements saying they abided by EU laws and that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

How much information the French government will try to obtain about the platform—and how cooperative Telegram will be—is the subject of much speculation.

Geopolitically, Telegram is like a double-edged sword. On one hand, it has given citizens in autocratic countries a way to share and broadcast information to a wide audience. For example, the tool is used extensively in Russia by both people who champion and people who condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On the other hand, it has been criticized as a beacon for extremists and an outlet for misinformation campaigns from state actors. It has also been implicated in illegal activity, such as the sharing of child pornography and arms sales to rogue groups.

Durov was born in Russia, but he fled the country after a previous online community application he built was shutdown by Russian authorities. He is a dual citizen of the United Arab Emirates, where he resides most of the time, and France.

He was detained by French authorities on 24 August when his private jet landed at Le Bourget Airport outside of Paris. In announcing his arrest on Monday, a French official said, “At the heart of the case is the absence of moderation or cooperation on the part of the platform especially in the fight against child sex crimes.”