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.

Telegram消息服务的创始人兼首席执行官帕维尔·杜罗夫在周末在法国被逮捕。

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.

报道称，警方在周六晚上在巴黎的勒布尔热机场拘留了杜罗夫。杜罗夫同时拥有法国和俄罗斯国籍。法国广播公司LCI和TF1报道说，他在从阿塞拜疆飞抵法国后被拘留。

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.

法国媒体周一报道，杜罗夫的逮捕与一项法国调查有关，该调查发现证据表明Telegram未能减少其服务上非法材料的传播。

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 within a legal framework.”

法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙表示，这次逮捕“绝不是政治决定”。他在社交媒体平台X上表示，法国“深度致力于”言论自由。但他补充说，“自由必须在法律框架内维护。”

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.

39岁的杜罗夫的逮捕 reportedly 是由一个法国调查机构申请的，该机构审查针对未成年人的犯罪。法国媒体称，官员们正在调查包括洗钱、毒品贩运等犯罪行为。

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.

在周一发布的一份声明中，Telegram表示公司遵守所有欧盟法律，包括《数字服务法》。声明还称，Telegram的内容审查方法符合行业标准，并且不断改进。

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."

公司表示，杜罗夫“没有什么可隐瞒的，并且经常在欧洲旅行。”声明补充说，“声称一个平台或其所有者对该平台的滥用负责是荒谬的。”

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

杜罗夫的代表无法立即联系以作出回应。由于调查正在进行中，法国执法部门官员也未做出回应。

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.

杜罗夫与他的兄弟共同创立了Telegram，以应对俄罗斯政府镇压2011年底和2012年发生在莫斯科的大规模民主抗议活动。抗议活动导致俄罗斯政府对国内互联网操作引入了新的限制。杜罗夫在2014年离开了俄罗斯。

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.

俄罗斯的科技公司监管机构曾尝试封锁Telegram，但未能完全限制该服务。今年3月，政府表示正在与Telegram合作，删除违反俄罗斯法律的内容。

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.

美联社报道，Telegram目前是乌克兰的一个热门新闻来源。Telegram reportedly 被政府官员和媒体用来分享有关乌克兰与俄罗斯战争的信息。在冲突期间，它还被用来向公民发送导弹和空袭警报。

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.

西方政府批评Telegram的内容审查政策过于宽松，未能有效识别和删除非法材料。专家表示，缺乏执法使个人更容易在该服务上进行如洗钱和毒品贩运等犯罪活动。

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.

大卫·蒂尔是加州斯坦福大学的一名研究员。他调查了在线服务在进行儿童剥削方面的使用情况。蒂尔告诉美联社，与其他消息服务相比，Telegram在识别和删除非法内容方面“安全性较差（且）更宽松”。

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.

此外，他补充说Telegram“基本上对执法部门没有反应。”作为例子，蒂尔表示，尽管消息服务WhatsApp在2023年登记了130万条可能的儿童剥削报告，但Telegram没有发送任何报告。

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.

在本月早些时候向美联社发布的一份声明中，Telegram表示它积极努力打击服务的滥用。公司表示，它使用监控方法和用户报告的结合来删除被禁止的内容。声明补充说，“每天都有数百万条有害内容被删除。”