What Are The Criminal Charges Against The Messaging App

Telegram is an app that allows for one-on-one conversations, group chats and large “channels” that let people broadcast messages to subscribers.

Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, has been released on a five-million-euro bail after being arrested by French Police. The founder of the encrypted messaging service is now required to report to the police twice a week as part of the conditions set by the Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau. Durov, under investigation for six charges, including allegations related to cyberbullying, pedophilic content sharing, and terrorism glorification, has been prohibited from leaving France during the ongoing investigation. The arrest took place at an airport outside Paris on Saturday night, with Beccuau revealing that Durov is facing a total of 12 criminal offenses.

He added the arrest “comes in the context of a judicial investigation opened on July 8, 2024”. It also concerns “refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interferences allowed by law,” the Paris prosecutor said.

In response to the arrest, the Telegram group said on its X account that the company “abides by European Union (EU) laws, including the Digital Services Act.” “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform,” it added.

What is Telegram?

Telegram is an app that allows for one-on-one conversations, group chats and large “channels” that let people broadcast messages to subscribers. Unlike rivals such as Meta’s WhatsApp, Telegram’s group chats allow as many as 200,000 people, compared to a maximum of 1,024 for WhatsApp. Experts have raised concerns that misinformation spreads easily in group chats of that size.

Telegram offers users end-to-end encryption for their communications, but — contrary to a popular misconception — this feature is not on by default. Users have to switch on the option. It also doesn’t work with group chats. That contrasts with rival Signal and Facebook Messenger, where chats are encrypted end-to-end by default.

Why was Durov arrested?

On Wednesday, French authorities handed preliminary charges to Durov for allowing alleged criminal activity on Telegram and barring him from leaving France pending further investigation. Allegations against Durov include that his platform is being used for child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking and that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.

The first preliminary charge against him was for “complicity in managing an online platform to allow illegal transactions by an organized group,” a crime that can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and 500,000 euro fine, the prosecutor’s office said.

Preliminary charges under French law mean magistrates have strong reason to believe a crime was committed but allow more time for further investigation.

The platform’s light-touch approach to content moderation has reportedly led to a rise in its popularity over the years. While Telegram has proactively taken down violent content and content related to child sexual abuse, the platform has increasingly become a tool for drug sellers, far-right extremist groups, and terrorist organizations in sharing harmful content.

Law enforcement authorities have also expressed frustration over Telegram’s alleged lack of cooperation in taking down harmful content and tracing the account holders. For instance, child safety organizations in the US, UK, and Canada accused Telegram of ignoring their requests to take action against child sexual abuse material on the platform, according to a report by NBC.