On Aug. 24, Durov was arrested at Le Bourget airport north of Paris.
Pavel Durov, the co-founder and CEO of Telegram, stays detained by French authorities following his arrest on Saturday night time.
On Saturday, France’s Workplace for the Safety of Minors (OFMIN) issued an arrest warrant for Durov based mostly on allegations of facilitating organized crime, drug trafficking, fraud, cyberbullying, and selling terrorism, in response to an nameless supply cited by information company AFP. Durov is reportedly accused of enabling mentioned crimes by failing to implement a content material moderation program to stop the misuse of the platform.
In accordance with The Guardian, Durov’s detention was initially scheduled to finish on Sunday night time, however was prolonged by an investigating Justice of the Peace. The preliminary magisterial questioning interval can last as long as 96 hours, after which the choose can launch or press costs in opposition to the defendant.
Pavel Durov, 39, who was born in Russia and holds citizenship in each France and the United Arab Emirates, was arrested on Aug. 24 at Le Bourget airport north of Paris. He was taken into custody instantly after touchdown his non-public jet, which had departed from Azerbaijan.
The Open Community’s TON token, a blockchain protocol built-in with Telegram, fell sharply after Durov’s arrest, dropping round 14% from its Saturday opening worth of $6.72, in response to The Defiant’s crypto worth feeds. Nonetheless, TON has since bounced again 8% from its native low, final altering palms for $5.62.
Telegram’s Response
Telegram responded on social media, stating they adjust to EU legal guidelines, together with the Digital Companies Act — which prohibits “illegal content,” together with “hate speech,” “terrorist content,” and “the sale of illegal goods and services” on on-line platforms. Telegram additionally claimed its content material moderation is inside “industry standards” and “constantly improving.”
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” the statement read. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information.”
Telegram added that Durov has nothing to hide and usually travels around Europe.
Support for Durov
Prominent tech executives and representatives of the web3 industry took to X to comment on Durov’sarrest
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s chief scientist, voiced concerns despite previously criticizing Telegram’s encryption standards. “Given the info available so far, the charge seems to be just being ‘unmoderated’ and not giving up people’s data — this looks very bad and worrying for the future of software and comms freedom in Europe.”
Elon Musk, the Tesla co-founder and owner of X, shared a previous interview between Durov and journalist Tucker Carlson with the hashtag #FreePavel.
Chris Pavlovski, CEO of Rumble, a video-sharing platform promoting itself as opposing censorship, posted on X that he had left Europe after Durov’s arrest.
“I’ve simply safely departed from Europe,” Pavlovski wrote. “France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech.”
Russia says France is “refusing to cooperate”
Russia is reportedly seeking answers from France about Durov’s arrest, however, the Russian embassy claims that France has been unresponsive so far.
“We instantly requested French authorities to clarify the explanations for this detention and demanded that his rights be protected and that consular entry be granted,” the Russian embassy said in a statement. “Up to now, the French side is refusing to cooperate on this question.”
Russia’s efforts to contact France regarding the case come despite Durov’s historically contentious relationship with the Russian government.
In 2014, Durov left Russia after refusing to shut down opposition groups on VKontakte (VK), the social network likened to “Russia’s Facebook” that he created in 2006. Durov and his brother Nikolai launched Telegram in 2013 in response to claimed disputes between the pair and VK’s Kremlin-linked owners.
Betters on Polymarket, a prediction platform, supply lengthy odds on the discharge of Durov from detention. Polymarket merchants are at the moment betting that there’s a 28% chance that Durov might be freed by Aug. 31, down from 50% on Sunday. The entire quantity wagered available on the market is roughly $85,000.
