Why has Telegram CEO Pavel Durov been arrested? Many words by France but it all sounds suspicious
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France on Sunday, with French officials accusing him of enabling illegal activities on the messaging platform. Telegram has dismissed the claims as absurd. The truth likely lies somewhere in between.
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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
Nandini Yadav
New Delhi,UPDATED: Aug 26, 2024 14:05 IST
In Short
- Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested in France
- Durov accused of not moderating criminal activities on Telegram
- Arrest raises concerns over freedom of speech and government overreach
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France on Sunday just as he got off his private jet at Le Bourget Airport. French authorities have reportedly detained Telegram CEO Pavel Durov under a warrant related to the messaging app. The investigation centres on allegations that Durov neglected to moderate criminal activities on Telegram, leading to his arrest. The officials claim that he failed to implement sufficient measures to prevent illegal use of the platform. Telegram, on the other hand, has dismissed these claims, calling them “absurd”. The company says that the CEO has “nothing to hide”. But where is the truth? It likely lies somewhere in between.
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The investigation on Durov revolves around serious allegations including fraud, drug trafficking, organised crime, and the promotion of terrorism and cyberbullying through Telegram. “Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” said an investigator in the case, according to The Guardian.
Meanwhile, Telegram has denied all claims by the French officials, and calls the allegations “absurd”. “Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform. Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all,” the company reacted in a post.
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“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving,” the company adds.
Western governments have increasingly pressured platforms like Telegram to moderate content, particularly in light of Telegram’s strong encryption. Simultaneously, Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has repeatedly stressed on the platform’s role as a “neutral platform” and has highlighted the app's appeal for its independence, privacy, and freedom.
Essentially, what the French government wants is content moderation on Telegram, and Durov adamantly stands for keeping privacy and freedom intact on the platform.
But here is something no one is talking about. There is a murkiness surrounding the exact reasons behind the reason for Durov's arrest. French authorities claim it is due to a failure to moderate criminal activities on Telegram, but their lack of detailed evidence raises questions. Telegram's dismissal of the allegations as "absurd" adds to the uncertainty. The situation appears to be more than a simple dispute over content moderation, suggesting that underlying political or strategic motives could be at play, but these remain concealed.
Durov’s arrest highlights the growing threats to freedom of speech and independence in the tech world. His arrest reveals the risks faced by those who refuse to comply with government demands, particularly when it comes to moderating or controlling content on their platforms. Which is why the real reason behind the Telegram CEO’s arrest feels buried somewhere there in the middle of a broader issue of governmental overreach and the stifling of dissenting voices.
American commentator and writer Tucker Carlson has a similar warning for big tech companies. “Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away. Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world,” he wrote in a post on X.
Pavel Durov’s journey from Russia to creating Telegram is marked by his efforts to challenge governmental control. In 2014, Durov left Russia after rejecting Kremlin demands to shut down opposition groups on VK or VKontakte, the social network he founded in 2006. VK was the Facebook for Russia. However, following a fallout with VK’s owners who were aligned with the Russian government, Durov left Russia and shifted his focus to Telegram, which he co-founded with his brother Nikolai in 2013. Since its launch, Telegram has evolved into a whole world in itself. It started off like any other messaging platform but has now turned into a social platform of sorts, with over 950 million active users.
Published By:
Nandini Yadav
Published On:
Aug 26, 2024
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