Pavel Durov, the Russian-born French and Emirati entrepreneur has been arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport after he got off his private jet on Saturday 24th August, 2024. The Telegram founder who just landed after a trip from Baku, Azerbaijan, was arrested as part of a preliminary police investigation.
Why Was Pavel Durov Arrested?
The 39-year old entrepreneur was arrested due to the lack of moderation of his company, Telegram, which has evolved from merely a messaging app to a blockchain powerhouse over the years. Due to what the authorities called a ‘lack of adequate moderation and control’, Telegram has become a breeding ground for cybercrimes such as drug trafficking, child sexual content, and fraud.
Telegram allows groups of up to 200,000 members, which critics have stated makes the social media app an easy platform for spreading misinformation virally. It has also been said that it is one of the reasons why users can use it to easily share conspiracist, neo-Nazi, paedophilic, and terror-related contents.
Telegram has also, undoubtedly been a channel for the spread of information as regards the Russo-Ukrainian War. The messaging platform has become what some analysts call ‘a virtual battlefield’ for the war, used heavily by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his officials, as well as the Russian government.
Also, in the UK, Telegram was scrutinized for hosting far-right channels that were instrumental in organizing the violent disorder in English cities earlier this month.
Telegram did remove some groups, but overall its system of moderating extremist and illegal content is significantly weaker than that of other social media companies and messenger apps, says cybersecurity experts.
Durov faces possible indictment on Sunday, according to French media. Telegram, with close to one billion users, is influential in the European states of Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union which boosted its rank as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and Wechat.
How is the World Reacting to Pavel Durov’s Arrest?
As of the 25th of August, 2024, the Russian Embassy in France said it was seeking access to Mr. Durov.
A spokesperson for the embassy wrote on Facebook: “Following the media reports about the detention of P. Durov, the French authorities were immediately requested to clarify the reasons for the detention and to provide for the protection of Mr. Durov’s rights and facilitate consular access.’’
The statement further reads, ‘‘As of today, the French authorities are, at the present time, not cooperating on this issue. We are in contact with P. Durov’s lawyer.”
The Russian Foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has also questioned the silence of Western human rights NGOs on Telegram regarding Pavel Durov’s arrest, after they criticized Russia’s decision to “create obstacles” to the work of Telegram in Russia in 2018.
A few Russians have also said that the silence of Western human rights NGOs showed the West has double standards when it comes to free speech and democracy.
Final Notes
The arrest of Pavel Durov has sparked widespread debate with the hashtag #FreeDurov, currently trending on social media platform, X. It is important to mention that the arrest of Durov could also have ripple effects on the cryptocurrency market, given Telegram’s relationship with blockchain and the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The uncertainty surrounding Durov’s legal situation may lead to increased volatility in cryptocurrency prices, and have a telling effect on the operations of Telegram. It will be interesting to see how the events surrounding the case unfolds in the next few days.