French authorities arrest Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

Pavel Durov, a French-Russian citizen, was taken into custody Saturday evening at Paris-Le Bourget airport after landing in France from Azerbaijan, according to television channels LCI and TF1.

Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office, which is part of French customs, notified Mr Durov, 39, that he was being held in custody, the television channels reported.

Representatives for Durov could not immediately be reached for comment.

French prosecutors declined to comment on Durov's arrest when contacted by The Associated Press on Sunday, in line with regulations amid an ongoing investigation.

French media reported that the arrest warrant for Durov was issued by France at the request of the Interior Ministry's special unit investigating crimes against minors. These include online sexual exploitation, such as possession and distribution of child pornography and grooming for sexual purposes.

Telegram was founded by Durov and his brother in the wake of the Russian government's crackdown on mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow in late 2011 and 2012.

The protests have prompted Russian authorities to crack down on the digital space, passing regulations requiring internet providers to block websites and mobile operators to store call records and messages that could be shared with security services.

In an increasingly repressive environment, Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric have offered Russians a convenient way to communicate and share information. In 2018, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor attempted to block Telegram over its refusal to hand over encryption keys, but ultimately failed to completely restrict access to the app.

Telegram continued to be widely used, including by government institutions, and the ban was lifted two years later. In March 2024, Roskomnadzor stated that Telegram was working to some extent with the Russian government and had removed more than 256,000 posts with prohibited content at Roskomnadzor's request.

Telegram also continues to be a popular source of information in Ukraine, where media outlets and officials use it to share information about the war and broadcast warnings of missiles and air raids.

In a statement posted on its platform, Telegram said it complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, and that its moderation is “in line with industry standards and constantly improving.”

Durov, the company added, “has nothing to hide and travels frequently to Europe.”

“It is absurd to claim that any platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of this platform,” Telegram said in its message. “Nearly a billion users worldwide rely on Telegram as a means of communication and a source of vital information. We expect a quick resolution of this situation. Telegram is with all of you.”

A French judicial official suggested that Durov could appear before a judge later Sunday to determine whether he will remain in custody. The official was not authorized to reveal his name publicly during the ongoing investigation.

“If the person concerned is to be brought before a judge today, it is only in the context of the possible extension of his police custody measure – a decision which must be taken and notified by an investigating judge,” the official said.

Western governments have often criticized Telegram for its lack of content moderation on the messaging service, which experts say opens the messaging platform to potential use for money laundering and drug trafficking and allows the sharing of content related to the sexual exploitation of minors.

Compared to other messaging platforms, Telegram is “less secure (and) more lax in terms of policies and detection of illegal content,” David Thiel, a Stanford University researcher who has investigated the use of online platforms for child exploitation, told his Internet Observatory.

Additionally, Telegram “appears fundamentally impervious to law enforcement,” Thiel said, adding that messaging service WhatsApp “submitted over 1.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2023 (and) Telegram submits none.”

In 2022, Germany fined Telegram operators $5 million for failing to comply with German law. The Federal Office of Justice said Telegram FZ-LLC had failed to establish a legal means to report illegal content or designate an entity in Germany to receive official communications.

Both of these requirements are imposed by German laws that regulate large online platforms.

Last year, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram over its refusal to provide data on neo-Nazi activity linked to a police investigation into school shootings in November.

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of social media site X, who has previously called himself an “absolute defender of free speech,” posted “#freePavel” in support of Durov after his arrest.

Russian government officials have expressed outrage at Durov's arrest, with some pointing to what they see as the West's double standards on freedom of expression.

“In 2018, a group of 26 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and others, condemned the Russian court's decision to block Telegram,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

“Do you think that this time they will appeal to Paris and demand Durov’s release?” Zakharova asked in a message posted on her personal Telegram account.

Officials at the Russian embassy in Paris have requested access to Durov, Zakharova told Russia's official RIA Novosti news agency, but she added that French authorities consider Durov's French citizenship to be his primary nationality.

In a statement to the AP earlier this month, Telegram said it was actively combating misuse of its platform.

“Moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring and user reporting to remove content that violates Telegram’s Terms of Service. Every day, millions of pieces of harmful content are removed,” the company said.

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