Telegram CEO and co-founder Pavel Durov at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015. Image: Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
A French prosecutor said the arrest is part of a broader investigation into crimes conducted on the app, while French president Macron says the arrest was not a political decision.
French authorities have revealed more details about the recent arrest of Pavel Durov, the CEO and co-founder of the private messaging app Telegram.
Durov was arrested at Le Bourget airport in the outskirts of Paris on Saturday 24 August and taken into police custody later that evening. The arrest sparked outcry from some high-profile accounts online – Edward Snowden called it an “assault on the basic human rights of speech and association”.
In a statement, prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the arrest is part of a broader investigation that was opened on 8 July against an unnamed person for charges of “complicity” in various criminal actions, including the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Other charges include a refusal to share information with authorities for “carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law”, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals.
These charges line up with earlier reports that said Durov has been accused of failing to take steps to stop criminal activity on the messaging app, such as drug trafficking and CSAM.
Durov can be held in police custody until tomorrow (28 August), at which point authorities will have to decide whether to release him or press charges.
Meanwhile, French president Emmanuelle Macron shared a statement on X regarding Durov’s arrest and said there was “false information” connecting the government to the decision.
“The arrest of the president [sic] of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron said. “It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”
Telegram has been criticised in the past for its ‘hands-off’ approach when it comes to content moderation, being accused of creating a space to spread illegal and extremist content. A Financial Times report claimed that Telegram was one of the main platforms used to organise the recent riots in the UK, along with TikTok and X.
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Telegram CEO and co-founder Pavel Durov at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2015. Image: Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
