French Investigators Questioning Telegram Founder Pavel Durov After Arrest – One America News Network
OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:55 PM – Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Billionaire Telegram Founder Pavel Durov has been transferred to court for questioning following his arrest at Paris’s Bourget Airport on Saturday.
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The arrest pertains to allegations that his online social platform was complicit in aiding fraud, drug traffickers, and the spread of child sex abuse material on his encrypted platform.
Telegram, a popular end-to-end encrypted message sharing platform with over 950 million active users, is accused of providing very little oversight into user interaction or posts on the platform that is meant to be discreet, which critics also claim allows for the “rapid spread of misinformation.”
“You cannot make it safe against criminals and open for governments,” Durov stated in 2016. “It’s either secure or not secure.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office stated that Durov would have to face “initial questioning and possible indictment,” following the multiple days he is incarcerated in France.
Durov has been dubbed the “Mark Zuckerberg of Russia,” as his encrypted communication platform, Telegram, is extremely popular in the region for citizens fearing government retaliation. However, this fact has also previously angered Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“Without providing evidence, Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said [that] the United States, through France, was attempting to exert control over Telegram,” Reuters reported.
Additionally, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, criticized the French government over its decision to potentially prosecute Durov, citing freedom of speech concerns.
“It seems to me that all this has once again demonstrated the true attitude of the French leadership, which has blatantly trampled on international norms in the field of protecting freedom of speech and expression, for only one reason- because if they protect certain standards, they must not only comply with them, they must protect and implement them,” she stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Monday that Durov’s potential charges are “in no way political.”
Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the affluent owner of the popular social media platform X (Twitter) has come to the defense of Durov, posting “#freePavel” following his arrest.
Additionally, the official Telegram account on X posted a response to Durov’s arrest.
“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently to Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the post stated.
The French investigation could last years before being sent to trial, and the judges would also be able to decide whether or not Durov should be placed in pretrial detention.
Durov and his brother Nikolai founded VKontakte, Russia’s largest social networking platform, prior to Telegram’s inception in 2013. The company faced significant pressure from the Russian government following widespread pro-democracy protests in 2011 and 2012, which ultimately resulted in Durov fleeing Russia.
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