Telegram boss detained in France

Paris prosecutors have announced that they have launched an official investigation into Telegram chief and founder Pavle Durov in France as part of an investigation into organized crime in the popular messaging app.

Pavel Durov is not in custody, but under judicial supervision, and he also has to pay bail in the amount of 5 million euros. The Russian billionaire, who is also a French citizen, must report to a French police station twice a week and is not allowed to leave France. Durov was detained upon arrival at Le Bourget airport on an arrest warrant for crimes related to the Telegram app.

Durov is accused of participating in the management of an online platform that allowed criminal companies to make illegal transactions, refusing to communicate with government authorities, and complicity in the criminal distribution of child pornography.

The head of Telegram has not yet responded to the allegations. His lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, says that Telegram complies with European digital regulations and is moderated according to the same standards as other social networks. He adds that "it is absurd to assume that his client could be involved in criminal acts that do not concern him directly or indirectly."

So far, owners of social platforms have never been the target of criminal proceedings for the way their platforms are used. They had to testify before the competent authorities several times, but no legal proceedings were ever initiated.

Durov is defended by Elon Musk, who says that moderation is a euphemism for censorship. Chris Pavlovski, who founded the equally often controversial platform Rumble, decided to leave Europe immediately after the news of the detention.

Telegram and its owner are also criticized for having in the past, despite numerous calls, always refused to cooperate in the abolition of criminal acts on the platform.

Telegram is a bit special compared to other platforms. 200,000 users can participate in groups, while on WhatsApp "only" 1000. Telegram messages are not encrypted by default, but this can be changed in the settings or individual subgroups. Users are now worried that the encryption keys are in the hands of Western authorities and that messages are no longer truly secure. In Russia, however, they are convinced that this is a political attack.

Telegram also faces accusations in South Korea that it is not proactive enough and allows crime to spread. In recent years, several companies have been discovered on the platform that spread child pornography.

With more than 950 million users, Telegram is one of the largest platforms in the world. The eyes of the world are now focused on France, where the fate of Telegram could be decided, at least on European territory.