2024-08-26 19:50:00
Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegramwas arrested in France over allegations that the messaging service failed to take action to prevent the app from being used for crimes, including the distribution of child sexual abuse material.
The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was detained on Saturday after getting off his private jet at Le Bourget Airport, north of Paris, French television network TF1 reported. The next day, the investigating judge extended his detention from 24 hours to 96 hours, AFP reported. Before a deadline expires on Wednesday night, magistrates must decide whether to charge Durov, acquit him, or call him as a witness in the investigation and release him.
Durov’s arrest warrant was issued by OFMIN, a French agency established last year to prevent violence against minors.
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“The core of this case is The platform (which has nearly 1 billion users) lacks moderation and cooperation, particularly in combating crimes against children.”he wrote on LinkedIn Jean-Michel Bernigaud, Secretary General of OFMIN.
Mysterious, liberal and millionaire: Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested in France
Durov too May face charges of aiding drug trafficking y Promote terrorism on TelegramAccording to AFP.
The Dubai-based company said in a statement posted on its platform on Sunday that Durov had “nothing to hide” and that Telegram complied with European law.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owners are responsible for the abuse of that platform” the company said in a statement. “We hope this situation can be resolved quickly.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office previously said it would not comment.
Telegram was created by Durov and his brother Nikolai, a programmer and mathematicianone of the most popular messaging apps in the world, with 900 million active users. The company’s relatively passive approach to content moderation has led to accusations that it is often used for criminal activity and the spread of extremist material.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested upon arrival in France and could be sentenced to 20 years in prison
Before launching Telegram, the Durov brothers made their fortune in 2006 by creating the social network VKontakte. The platform quickly became popular in Russia, and Pavel Durov now has a net worth of more than $9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This success also made Durov a target of the Kremlin. In 2014, he fled the country and sold his shares in VKontakte.
Durov lives in Dubai and is a citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Telegram website. He did not comment on whether he would renounce his Russian citizenship.
After Durov’s arrest, the Russian Embassy in Paris said it “immediately requested the French authorities to explain the reasons for the arrest and Demand that his rights be guaranteed and that he be provided with consular access rights”. Embassy officials contacted Durov’s lawyer, he added.
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