Telegram Chief Pavel Durov Arrested in France

The founder and chief executive of the Telegram messaging service, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France over the weekend.

The reports said police detained Durov Saturday night at Le Bourget airport in Paris. Durov holds citizenship in both France and Russia. He landed in France after a flight from Azerbaijan, French broadcasters LCI and TF1 reported.

French media reported on Monday that Durov's arrest was linked to a French investigation that found evidence that Telegram had failed to reduce the spread of illegal material on its service.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the arrest was “in no way a political decision.” He said on the social media service X that France “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression. But he added, “Freedoms are upheld with in a legal framework.”

The arrest of the 39-year-old Durov was reportedly sought by a French investigative agency that examines crimes against minors. The French media says officials are investigating crimes including money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses.

In a statement issued Monday, Telegram said the company obeys all European Union laws, including the Digital Services Act. It added that Telegram's moderation methods operate within industry standards and are always being improved.

Durov “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” the company said. The statement added, “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."

Representatives for Durov could not be immediately reached for comment. French law enforcement officials also offered no comment because the investigation is ongoing.

Durov founded Telegram with his brother in reaction to Russian government efforts to crush large pro-democracy protests that took place in Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012. The demonstrations led the Russian government to introduce new restrictions on internet operations in the country. Durov left Russia in 2014.

Russia's agency that governs technology companies at one time tried to block Telegram but was unsuccessful in fully restricting the service. In March, the government said it was working with Telegram to remove content that violated Russian laws.

The messaging service is currently a popular source of news in Ukraine, The Associated Press (AP) reports. Telegram is reportedly used by both government officials and the media to share information on Ukraine's war with Russia. It has also been used to send missile and air raid warnings to citizens during the conflict.

Western governments have criticized Telegram for having weak moderation policies that are supposed to identify and remove illegal material. Experts say the lack of enforcement makes it easier for individuals to commit crimes such as money laundering and drug trafficking on the service.

David Thiel is a researcher at Stanford University in California. He has investigated the use of online services to carry out child exploitation. Thiel told the AP that compared to other messaging services, Telegram is “less secure (and) more lax” in identifying and removing illegal content.

In addition, Telegram “appears basically unresponsive to law enforcement,” he added. As an example, Thiel said that while the messaging service WhatsApp registered 1.3 million reports of possible child exploitation in 2023, Telegram did not send any.

In a statement to the AP earlier this month, Telegram said it actively works to fight the misuse of its service. The company said it uses a combination of monitoring methods and user reports in order to remove banned content. “Each day, millions of pieces of harmful content are removed,” it added.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.

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framework –n. the supporting structure of something

money laundering – n. the crime of moving money that has been obtained illegally through banks and other businesses in order to make it seem like the money operations are legal

moderate – v. to make sure the rules of an internet discussion are not broken

absurd – adj. unreasonable or outrageous

platform – n. a company or service that permits someone to tell a large number of people about ideas or products

exploit – v. to use someone or something unfairly for your own advantage

lax – adj. without much care, attention or control

unresponsive – adj. not reacting in a quick or positive way

monitor – v. to carefully watch something