ReutersPavel Doerov in 2016
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 00:14
Telegram founder Pavel Durov “has nothing to hide”, the platform said in response to the arrest of its CEO in France. The messaging app called it “absurd” to hold a platform or its owner responsible for abuse of that service.
French TV channel TF1 reported earlier, citing sources, that Russian tech billionaire Durov was arrested on Saturday after landing his private plane at Le Bourget airport near Paris. The news has not yet been confirmed by authorities. The reason for his arrest has also not yet been officially announced.
According to TF1, the 39-year-old Russian was on a French wanted list and was arrested because Telegram shares little or no information about its users and uses too few moderators, giving criminals free rein. According to the French justice system, the company’s management is complicit in drug trafficking, fraud, terrorism and money laundering, among other things, according to TF1.
One of the TV channel’s sources stated that “Durov allowed numerous violations and crimes to be committed on Telegram, doing nothing to moderate them or cooperate with the authorities.”
Leave Russia
The messaging app says in the reaction today to comply with EU law, including the Digital Services Act. According to the company, its moderation is within industry standards and is continuously being improved. “We are waiting for a quick resolution of this situation. Telegram stands with you all,” the platform concludes in its response.
Telegram was founded in 2013 by Russian brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov, who are also the founders of VK, the Russian version of Facebook. Pavel Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing a government request to shut down certain opposition channels on VK. He now lives in Dubai. The Russian embassy in France has said it wants to help Durov.
