World Courant
Messaging app Telegram has mentioned CEO Pavel Durov, who was arrested in France on Saturday, has “nothing to cover”.
Mr. Durov was arrested at an airport north of Paris on an arrest warrant for violations associated to the app, officers mentioned.
The investigation reportedly considerations insufficient moderation, with Mr Durov accused of failing to take steps to curb felony use of Telegram. The app is accused of failing to cooperate with legislation enforcement on drug trafficking, little one sexual content material and fraud.
Telegram mentioned in a press release that “moderation is inside trade requirements and is repeatedly bettering.”
“It’s absurd to say {that a} platform or its proprietor is liable for the misuse of that platform,” the app mentioned.
Telegram reported that Mr Durov recurrently travels round Europe, including that it adheres to European Union legal guidelines, together with the Digital Providers Act, which strives for a secure and accountable on-line setting.
“Almost one billion customers worldwide depend on Telegram as a method of communication and as a supply of essential info,” the app’s assertion mentioned.
“We’re ready for a fast decision of this example. Telegram is with you all.”
In keeping with judicial sources cited by the AFP information company, Mr Durov’s detention was prolonged on Sunday and will last as long as 96 hours.
Pavel Durov, 39, was born in Russia and now lives in Dubai, the place Telegram is predicated. He has twin citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France.
Telegram is very well-liked in Russia, Ukraine and the previous Soviet Union.
The app was banned in Russia in 2018 after beforehand refusing at hand over person knowledge. The ban was overturned in 2021.
Telegram is among the largest social media platforms after Fb, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.
Mr Durov based Telegram in 2013. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to adjust to authorities calls for to shut opposition teams on his social media platform VKontakte, which he subsequently offered.
On Sunday, the Russian embassy in France wrote on Fb that it “needs to make clear the explanations for the detention and supply for the safety of Mr. Durov’s rights and facilitate consular entry.”
The message additionally acknowledged that the French authorities don’t cooperate with the Russian authorities.
Russian Overseas Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram asking whether or not Western human rights organizations would stay silent about Durov’s arrest, after they criticized Russia’s determination to “create obstacles” to Telegram’s work in Russia in 2018.
Telegram permits teams of as much as 200,000 members. Critics say this may facilitate the spreading of misinformation and sharing of conspiracy theories, neo-Nazi, pedophile or terror-related content material.
Within the UK, the app got here underneath fireplace for internet hosting far-right channels that performed a key function in organising violent dysfunction in English cities earlier this month.
Whereas Telegram has eliminated some teams, total its system for moderating extremist and unlawful content material is considerably weaker than that of different social media firms and messaging apps, cybersecurity consultants say.
Telegram: Arrested CEO Pavel Durov has ‘nothing to cover’
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