NICE, France (AP) \u2014 The founder and CEO of the messaging service Telegram was detained at a Paris airport on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses, French media reported Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pavel Durov, a dual citizen of France and Russia, was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday evening after landing in France from Azerbaijan, according to broadcasters LCI and TF1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Investigators from the National Anti-Fraud Office, attached to the French customs department, notified Durov, 39, that he was being placed in police custody, the broadcasters said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Durov\u2019s representatives couldn\u2019t be immediately reached for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French prosecutors declined to comment on Durov\u2019s arrest when contacted by The Associated Press on Sunday, in line with regulations during an ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French media reported that the warrant for Durov was issued by France at the request of the special unit at the country\u2019s interior ministry in charge of investigating crimes against minors. Those include online sexual exploitation, such as possession and distribution of child sexual abuse content and grooming for sexual purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telegram was founded by Durov and his brother in the wake of the Russian government\u2019s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital space, adopting regulations that forced internet providers to block websites and cellphone operators to store call records and messages that could be shared with security services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the increasingly repressive environment, Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news. In 2018, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor moved to block Telegram over its refusal to hand over encryption keys, but ultimately failed to fully restrict access to the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telegram continued to be widely used \u2014 including by government institutions \u2014 and the ban was dropped two years later. In March 2024, Roskomnadzor said that Telegram was working with the Russian government to a certain extent and had removed more than 256,000 posts with prohibited content at Roskomnadzor\u2019s request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telegram also continues to be a popular source of news in Ukraine, where both media outlets and officials use it to share information on the war, and deliver missile and air raid alerts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement posted on its platform, Telegram said it abides by EU laws including the digital services act, and its moderation is \u201cwithin industry standards and constantly improving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Durov, the company added, \u201chas nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,\u201d Telegram\u2019s post said. \u201cAlmost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We\u2019re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A French judicial official suggested that Durov could appear before a judge later Sunday to determine whether he will remain in custody. The official wasn\u2019t authorized to be named publicly during an ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf 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 \u2014 a decision that must be taken and notified by an investigating judge,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Western governments have often criticized Telegram for lack of content moderating on the messaging service, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and allowing the sharing of content linked to sexual exploitation of minors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compared to other messaging platforms, Telegram is \u201cless secure (and) more lax in terms of policy and detection of illegal content,\u201d said David Thiel, a Stanford University researcher, who has investigated the use of online platforms for child exploitation, at its Internet Observatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, Telegram \u201cappears basically unresponsive to law enforcement,\u201d Thiel said, adding that messaging service WhatsApp \u201csubmitted over 1.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2023 (and) Telegram submits none.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022,\u00a0Germany issued fines\u00a0of 5.125 million euros ($5 million) against the operators of Telegram for failing to comply with German law. The Federal Office of Justice said that Telegram FZ-LLC hasn\u2019t established a lawful way for reporting illegal content or named an entity in Germany to receive official communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, Brazil\u00a0temporarily suspended\u00a0Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry into school shootings in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of social media site X who\u2019s called himself a \u201cfree speech absolutist\u201d in the past, posted \u201d#freePavel\u201d in support of Durov following the arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russian government officials expressed outrage at Durov\u2019s arrest, with some highlighting what they said was the West\u2019s double standard on freedom of speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 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\u2019s decision to block Telegram,\u201d Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you think this time they\u2019ll appeal to Paris and demand Durov\u2019s release?\u201d Zakharova said in a post on her personal Telegram account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials at the Russian Embassy in Paris had requested access to Durov, Zakharova told Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti, but she added that French authorities view Durov\u2019s French citizenship as his primary one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement to the AP earlier this month, Telegram said that it actively combats misuse of its platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cModerators use a combination of proactive monitoring and user reports in order to remove content that breaches Telegram\u2019s terms of service. Each day, millions of pieces of harmful content are removed,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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