Messaging app Telegram Founder Pavel Durov remains in custody in France following his arrest last week following a judicial investigation.
The 39-year-old billionaire is credited with founding the social media platform ‘VK’ Russian Also known as Mark Zuckerberg, he was forced to leave the company in 2014 after refusing to comply with Russian government demands to provide details of protesters who were active on his site.
After leaving Russia, he continued to run Telegram from Dubai, held dual citizenship in the United Arab Emirates and France and regularly traveled to Asia, the Middle East and Europe before his arrest on Saturday.
The arrest was reportedly made due to Telegram’s lack of moderation, as French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that it was “in no way a political decision.”
A French police spokesman added that the judicial investigation is related to Telegram’s non-compliance with cyber and financial crimes.
Telegram had 950 million active users in July 2024, according to Durov, making it the fourth most popular messaging platform in the world after WhatsApp, WeChat and Facebook Messenger.
In a statement on Sunday, Telegram said it has ‘nothing to hide and that the app complies with EU laws and adheres to industry standards for moderation.’
A message posted from the company’s official channel on the Telegram app added, “It is absurd to claim that the platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of the platform. Looking forward.’
Russian exile Durov rarely gives media interviews but often shares personal updates and information through his Telegram channel. He has more than 1 million followers on this channel.
Durov revealed in 2019 that he gave up food to improve his stamina and focus, while in a recent post he shockingly revealed that he has more than 100 children.
In a post on his Telegram channel on July 29, Durov wrote: ‘I was just told I have over 100 biological children. 15 years ago a friend of mine approached me with a strange request. He said that he and his wife could not have children due to fertility problems and asked me to donate sperm to a clinic to have a child.’
According to him: ‘The head of the clinic told me that the supply of high-quality sperm was in short supply and it was my duty as a responsible citizen to donate more sperm anonymously to help more couples. By 2024, 100 couples in 12 countries will be able to have children with my donated sperm. What’s more, many years later at least one IVF clinic still has my frozen sperm available to families who want to have children.’
Durov added that he plans to ‘open source’ his DNA so that his biological children can easily find each other.
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He told his 11 million subscribers: ‘Of course there are risks involved but I don’t regret donating sperm. The lack of healthy sperm has become a serious problem around the world and I am proud to have played my part in eradicating it.’
Durov’s arrest has been widely condemned by privacy and free speech advocates. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden called it ‘an attack on free speech and the organization’s basic human rights’.
The app has previously faced a number of controversies, having been used by everyone from ISIS terrorists to those involved in the recent UK riots who organize and share information in private groups.
Telegram says that incitement to violence is expressly prohibited and such channels are removed. At an event in 2015, Durov said that he believed “the right to privacy is more important than the fear of bad things like terrorism.”
In his last message posted on August 14, Durov wrote: ‘When I turned 11 in 1995, I promised myself that I would become smarter, stronger and more independent every day. Today Telegram turns 11 years old and is ready to make the same commitment. As every day Telegram should become smarter (more features for people), stronger (more popular among users), independent (more autonomous and self-sufficient).’
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2024-08-29 10:05:50
