Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Arrested in France

Pavel Durov, the co-founder and CEO of Telegram, has been arrested in France, reports Reuters. The Russian-born billionaire was taken into custody at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday.

French police sources say they spotted Durov's name on a passenger list on and moved to detain him when he arrived from Azerbaijan. He was arrested as part of a preliminary investigation accusing him of allowing a wide range of crimes due to a lack of moderators on Telegram and a lack of cooperation with police.

The investigation is purportedly being led by a cybersecurity gendarmerie unit and France's national anti-fraud police unit. Durov faces possible indictment on Sunday.


Free speech advocates have spoken out strongly against the arrest with many accusing the French government of trying to strangle the ability of users to speak freely.

Investigative journalist Lucy Komisar claims that the French government will demand Durov build a backdoor into Telegram to secure his freedom.

"The broader implications are an attempt to tighten control of the platforms of the Internet that allow views that challenge the collective West. The European Union is already doing this against X/Twitter, demanding censorship," she mused. "Durov might give in to a backdoor or censorship to get his freedom. That depends on how draconian the French (and their American sponsors) will be. And it certainly concentrates the minds of other non-compliant internet executives."

Edward Snowden commented on the arrest saying, "The arrest of @Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association. I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications. It lowers not only France, but the world."


Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Durov had misjudged, fleeing censorship in Russia without realizing he would have to cooperate with security services abroad. "He miscalculated," Medvedev said. "For all our common enemies now, he is Russian – and therefore unpredictable and dangerous."

On X, Elon Musk shared news of the arrest and tweeted, "It's 2030 in Europe and you're being executed for liking a meme."

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