International Courant
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov
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Pavel DurovThe Russian-born billionaire and founding father of messaging app Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outdoors Paris shortly after touchdown in a personal jet on Saturday evening and brought into custody, a police supply mentioned.
The 39-year-old tech billionaire’s arrest prompted a warning from Moscow to Paris on Sunday that he must be given his rights. He additionally drew criticism from X proprietor Elon Musk, who mentioned freedom of speech in Europe was below stress.
There was no official affirmation of the arrest from France. French and Russian media additionally reported this. In line with them, Durov was arrested shortly after arriving at Le Bourget airport in a personal jet from Azerbaijan.
France’s BFM and TF1 mentioned Durov, who holds twin French and UAE citizenship, was arrested as a part of a preliminary police investigation into the doable criminality allowed by an absence of moderators on Telegram and an absence of cooperation with police. Reuters’ police supply couldn’t affirm that.
Telegram and senior Telegram executives didn’t reply to repeated requests for remark. The French Inside Ministry, the police and the Paris prosecutor’s workplace declined to remark. Durov could also be charged on Sunday, French media reported.
Dubai-based Telegram was based by Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to adjust to calls for to close down opposition teams on his social media platform VK, which he has since offered.
The encrypted software, with virtually one billion customersis especially influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the previous Soviet Union. It’s ranked as one of the essential social media platforms after Fb, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.
Telegram
Durov, who has a internet price of $15.5 billion in accordance with Forbes, mentioned in April that some governments have been making an attempt to stress him however that the app ought to stay a “impartial platform” and never a “participant in geopolitics.”
Durov got here up with the thought of an encrypted messaging app as a option to talk whereas below stress in Russia. His youthful brother, Nikolai, designed the encryption.
“I might fairly be free than take orders from anybody,” Durov mentioned in April about his departure from Russia and the seek for a house base for his firm, for which he has labored in Berlin, London, Singapore and San Francisco, amongst different locations.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has grow to be the main supply for unfiltered – and typically specific and deceptive – content material from each side concerning the struggle and the politics surrounding the battle.
The platform has grow to be what some analysts name a “digital battlefield” for struggle, used extensively by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his officers, in addition to the Russian authorities.
The Russian Overseas Ministry mentioned it had despatched a letter to Paris demanding entry to Durov, though it mentioned he was a French nationwide.
In line with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Durov made a mistake by fleeing Russia and considering he would by no means need to cooperate with safety companies overseas.
Medvedev, who commonly makes use of Telegram to criticize and insult the West, mentioned Durov needed to be a “sensible ‘man of the world’ who can reside superbly with out the motherland.”
“He misjudged it,” Medvedev mentioned. “For all our widespread enemies now, he’s Russian – and subsequently unpredictable and harmful.”
Russia started blocking Telegram in 2018 after the app refused to adjust to a courtroom order to permit state safety companies entry to its customers’ encrypted messages.
The motion interrupted many third-party companies, however had little impact concerning the availability of Telegram there. Nonetheless, the ban led to mass protests in Moscow and criticism from NGOs.
‘Impartial platform’
In line with French and Russian media, Durov, who lives in Dubai, was on his means from Azerbaijan and was arrested round 8:00 p.m. (18:00 GMT).
Telegram says it’s “dedicated to defending consumer privateness and human rights, equivalent to freedom of expression and meeting.”
Durov has beforehand accused U.S. legislation enforcement businesses such because the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of making an attempt to get a backdoor into the platform. The FBI has not commented on these allegations.
Nonetheless, Telegram’s rising reputation has led to scrutiny in a number of international locations in Europe, together with Franceabout issues about safety and knowledge breaches.
Musk, the billionaire proprietor of X, the social media platform previously often called Twitter, mentioned after studies of Durov’s arrest: “It is 2030 in Europe and also you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
Outdoors the French embassy in Moscow, a lone protester held an indication studying: “Freedom for Pavel Durov.”
