Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested for alleged ‘lack of moderation’ on app

PTC press office: Telegram chief Pavel Durov is due to appear in court on Sunday after being arrested by French police at an airport near Paris. The Franco-Russian billionaire, 39, was detained at Le Bourget airport, north of the French capital, on Saturday evening, according to sources who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. Durov had arrived from Baku, Azerbaijan.

The arrest came after an investigation by France’s OFMIN, an office dedicated to preventing violence against minors. Durov faces a range of charges, including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promoting terrorism. Authorities accuse him of failing to address criminal misuse of his messaging platform, Telegram.

“Enough of Telegram’s impunity,” said one of the investigators, expressing surprise that Durov had gone to Paris while being a wanted person.

Dubai-based Telegram positions itself as a privacy-focused alternative to U.S. messaging platforms that have faced criticism for how they handle user data. The app prides itself on never revealing user information.

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In a rare interview with right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson in April, Durov explained that the idea for the encrypted messaging service came about in response to pressure from the Russian government during his tenure at VK, the social network he founded and then sold before leaving Russia in 2014. He also mentioned trying to move to Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco before settling in Dubai, which he praised for its business-friendly environment and neutrality.

Durov claimed during the interview that Telegram has over 900 million active users. The platform’s decision to base itself in the UAE allowed it to avoid strict moderation laws in Western countries that are increasingly pressuring tech companies to crack down on illegal content.

Telegram’s large group capacity — up to 200,000 members — has led to criticism that it facilitates the spread of disinformation and extremist content, including neo-Nazi, paedophilia, conspiracy and terrorism. Competitor WhatsApp, meanwhile, introduced global message-forwarding limits in 2019 after it was implicated in spreading false information in India that led to lynchings.

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– With information from the agency