International Courant
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Pavel Durov based Telegram in 2013
Pavel Durov, the CEO of messaging app Telegram, has been arrested in France.
Officers stated the arrest was made on a warrant for misdemeanors associated to the app. The investigation is alleged to deal with insufficient moderation, with Mr Durov allegedly failing to take measures to fight legal use of Telegram.
Telegram stated in a press release that “it’s absurd to assert {that a} platform or its proprietor is answerable for abuse of that platform.”
Who’s Pavel Durov?
Mr Durov, 39, is a multi-billionaire initially from Russia.
He based the favored Russian social media firm VKontakte.
In 2014, Mr Durov left Russia after refusing adjust to authorities calls for to shut opposition teams on the platform.
A yr earlier, he had based Telegram and now runs the corporate from Dubai within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the place he now lives.
He holds UAE and French citizenship, however Russia has indicated that it nonetheless considers him a citizen.
In line with Telegram, Mr. Durov travels often round Europe.
In an interview with conservative American media character Tucker Carlson in April, Durov stated he would refuse sure requests from authorities to take away content material from his platform.
He stated: “The place we thought it might cross a line – it might not be in line with our values of freedom of expression and defending individuals’s personal correspondence – we ignored it.”
What’s Telegram?
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Telegram is among the largest social media and messaging platforms on the earth, together with Fb, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat.
In July, Mr Durov claimed that Telegram had reached 950 million month-to-month energetic customers. It’s common in Russia and Ukraine, whereas pro-democracy teams in Iran and Hong Kong additionally use it.
Telegram does supply encryption, that means that messages can solely be learn on the system that sends them and the system that receives them. Nonetheless, this isn’t the default setting for the consumer.
The large distinction between Telegram and related companies like WhatsApp is the dimensions of the teams you may be a part of on Telegram.
WhatsApp limits group measurement to 1,000 customers, whereas a Telegram group can comprise as much as 200,000 customers.
The platform has been criticized for permitting disinformation to unfold in such massive teams.
Critics allege that the platform hosts conspiracy theories, neo-Nazi, pedophile or terror-related content material.
In line with stories, French authorities have stated the investigation into Mr Durov focuses on the app’s failure to cooperate with regulation enforcement in areas equivalent to drug trafficking, little one sexual abuse and fraud.
Within the UK, the app has come below hearth for internet hosting far-right channels that performed a key function in organising violent riots in English cities this month. Cybersecurity consultants say the app is way much less strict in moderating extremist and unlawful content material than different social media firms and messaging apps.
Following Durov’s arrest, Telegram reported that moderation “falls inside trade requirements and is consistently being improved.”
The corporate stated it complies with European Union regulation, together with the Digital Providers Act, which goals to make sure a secure and accountable on-line setting.
“Practically one billion customers worldwide depend on Telegram as a way of communication and as a supply of vital data,” the app’s assertion stated.
“We’re ready for a fast decision of this example. Telegram is with you all.”
What has been stated about Durov’s arrest?
French authorities have but to offer particulars of precisely what Mr Durov was arrested for in reference to Telegram.
Nonetheless, it’s fairly distinctive for the proprietor of a social media or messaging platform to be arrested due to the content material on that platform.
Elon Musk posted the hashtag #FreePavel on X, together with a clip of the Telegram founder speaking to Carlson concerning the modifications the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire made after shopping for the positioning previously referred to as Twitter.
Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who now lives in Russia after revealing intensive web and telephone surveillance by US intelligence, stated on X that Durov’s arrest is “an assault on the basic human rights of expression and affiliation”.
He added: “I’m shocked and deeply saddened that (French President Emmanuel) Macron has stooped to the extent of taking hostages as a way of accessing personal communications. It degrades not solely France, however the world.”
Who’s Pavel Durov and what’s his app?
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