Telegram Founder Pavel Durov: From Elon Musk to Carl Tuckerson: International Support for Arrested Telegram Founder Pavel Durov

French-Russian tech tycoon Pavel Durov was detained at a Paris airport on Sunday on suspicion of involvement in activities related to his messaging app Telegram. The alleged crimes include fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promoting terrorism.
According to the Moscow Times, Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport and is scheduled to appear in court on Sunday.
He could face charges that could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The arrest has sparked significant discussion and reaction in the tech sector and among celebrities.
Concerns about mandate and content moderation
France has allowed Durov to be arrested as part of a preliminary investigation into alleged crimes. The detention of the Telegram founder has sparked further debates about the platform’s content regulation policies.
Famous for his end-to-end encryptionTelegram allows the creation of groups of up to 200,000 members, which has raised accusations of enabling the spread of false information and harmful content.
Tech Industry Reactions
The tech industry’s reaction to Durov’s arrest was swift and clear.
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, was one of the first prominent tech figures to endorse the “#FreePavel” trend. He expressed concern about the arrest, viewing it as an attack on free speech and hinting at broader implications for censorship. Musk emphasized the dangerous direction these actions represent and expressed heightened concerns about censorship.

American entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan also criticized the French government’s actions. He suggested that the motives behind the arrest were more about control than actual crime prevention, pointing to the impracticality of holding Durov accountable for the actions of Telegram users when the French government itself is struggling with domestic crime.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed concerns, noting that while he had previously criticized Telegram’s encryption policies, Durov’s arrest carries troubling implications for freedom of communication in Europe.

Paul Graham, a well-known computer scientist and author, weighed in on the matter, discussing how Durov’s arrest could affect France’s reputation as a startup hub, highlighting the potential negative consequences for the country’s business environment.

Other international reactions
Edward Snowdenformer NSA whistleblower and intelligence officer condemned the arrest on social media. Expressing his outrage on X (formerly Twitter), Snowden said the “attack on basic human rights statements and associations,” adding that it casts a shadow over France’s global reputation.

According to the Moscow Times, Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host who interviewed Durov earlier this year, made an apt comparison. “Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But ultimately, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for giving the public free speech. It was a Western country, an ally of the Biden administration and an enthusiastic NATO member, who locked him up,” Carlson said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded quickly to Durov’s detention. “In response to information about Durov’s detention, the Russian Embassy in France immediately took the necessary steps to clarify the situation regarding the Russian citizen, despite the absence of any request from the representatives of the businessman (Durov),” the ministry told state news agency TASS.
Durov’s Story and Telegram’s Future
Telegram has yet to publish an official statement on Durov’s arrest. Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in France is reportedly working to resolve the situation, emphasizing the diplomatic attention the arrest has attracted.
Durov, who currently lives in Dubai, has dual citizenship in France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He left Russia in 2014 amid government pressure to shut down opposition groups on his social media platform VKontakte. Ranking as the world’s 120th richest person since Aug. 25, Durov’s swift arrest upon arrival in France has become a flashpoint for broader debates over freedom of speech, law enforcement and digital privacy.
Telegram, launched by Durov in 2013, is known for its secure, end-to-end encrypted messaging services. The platform allows users to create channels to quickly disseminate information to a wide audience, contributing to its widespread international use.
An upcoming court hearing will decide the next steps in this unfolding legal drama.