The CEO of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been arrested in France under a warrant for offences related to the app. The investigation is reportedly about insufficient moderation, with Mr. Durov accused of failing to take steps to curb criminal uses of Telegram. In response, Telegram stated that it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.
Pavel Durov, 39, is a multi-billionaire originally from Russia who founded the popular Russian social media company VKontakte. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the platform. Durov founded Telegram in 2013 and now runs the firm from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, where he currently resides.
Telegram is one of the world’s biggest social media and messaging platforms, with 950 million monthly active users as of July. It is popular in Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and Hong Kong among other places. The platform offers encryption, but the default setting for users does not enable this feature. Telegram allows for much larger group sizes compared to other messaging services, with groups of up to 200,000 users.
Critics have raised concerns about Telegram’s moderation of extremist and illegal content, with reports of the platform hosting far-right channels and being used to organize violent disorder in English cities. Following Durov’s arrest, Telegram stated that its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving, and that it abides by European Union laws to ensure a safe online environment.
Elon Musk and Edward Snowden have voiced support for Durov, with Musk posting #FreePavel and Snowden calling the arrest an assault on basic human rights of speech and association. The details of the charges against Durov are still unclear, but his arrest marks a significant development in the ongoing debate over platform moderation and accountability.
