Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov arrested at French airport following investigation into platform

[Jimmy2x]

What just happened? Telegram is one of the largest social media and communication tools currently available with over 950 million active users worldwide. But not all of those users leverage the platform's capabilities with the best of intentions, and the lack of moderation for these users has led to a warrant and arrest of the platform's CEO, Pavel Durov.

Originally reported by the French media outlet TF1, Durov was arrested by the Air Transport Gendarmerie (GTA) on the tarmac of Le Bourget airport around 8 p.m. on Saturday. He was apprehended shortly after departing his private jet following a flight from Azerbaijan.

The warrant for Durov's arrest was authorized by the OFMIN (Office to Combat Violence Against Minors) and issued by French authorities as part of a preliminary investigation into Telegram's practices and potential facilitation of criminal activity.

Contributing factors included Telegram's lack of moderation, Durov's unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement regarding criminal matters tied to the platform, and the availability of tools like burner phone numbers, encrypted communications, and cryptocurrencies that enable Telegram-based criminal activities.

Unnamed French authorities told TF1 that the warrant was only valid if Durov was on French soil, describing his landing at the airport just outside Paris as "a blunder." Before this incident, Durov had carefully avoided European countries known for keeping a close eye on Telegram and its operations.

Durov's next steps may not be quite what he had in mind after landing at Le Bourget. According to the TF1 report, investigators from the Customs Directorate's National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) placed Durov in police custody until he is presented to a judge for indictment. The list of potential charges is serious, referencing everything from terrorism, narcotics, and money laundering to supporting the transmission of pedocriminal content.

French law enforcement sources told TF1 that Durov "…allowed an incalculable number of offenses and crimes to be committed, for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate." He is currently awaiting indictment, which is likely to be followed by detention due to his substantial resources, making him a high flight risk.

This ordeal could mark the closing chapter in the long history of Pavel Durov. Born in Russia, he and his brother, Nikolai Durov, founded Telegram in 2013. Pavel was forced to leave Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with the government's demands to shut down communities voicing opposition on his previous social media platform, VKontakte, which he later sold. In an interview with Tucker Carlson following his departure, Durov remarked, "I would rather be free than take orders from anyone."

Permalink to story:

Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov arrested at French airport following investigation into platform

 

[atiamd]

About time

 

[NotYourITguy]

Take note that this is nothing more than an admission by France that they do not allow any form of private communications unless the government is given moderation and intercept abilities.

I have no doubt Telegram is commonly used for all kinds of questionable purposes. However, the real solution is for France to adapt to modern times instead of demanding that there be no privacy at all. There are plenty of ways to catch criminals without needing to have spyware integrated into every digital communications platform.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

This is absolutely horrifying. An admission that you CANNOT exist if you oppose the powers that be on anything they want. Compromise your platforms or we will trump up charges to arrest you.

Europe is supposed to be better then soviet russia/china.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

The accusations they make against him of indirect guilt could well fall under the failed French government that has allowed the country to become a criminal den.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

There are always good and bad sides to things. Government will always be in a catch 22, damn if you do, damn if you don't.

 

[toooooot]

I have read somewhere else that his personal plane landed in France to get more fuel, and that he avoided France for a while because he was aware of this.
If that comes out true, it is a bit unfortunate for him to still go to France and still get arrested.

 

[NumberNine]

These days, this is the only way to know if a platform is truly private.
The government will seize assets and force the introduction of a backdoor.

Like most of life, this development is complex and bittersweet.

 

[dangh]

I wonder what evidence is there against him.
One thing is sure: if you making a platform for pedos for trading their stuff full service with payment processing and anonymity without any way to identify illegal use then this is just a natural outcome.

 

[Antias]

The balance between an individuals right to privacy AND our obligations to prevent child (sexual) abuse, terrorism and drug abuse etc... is extremely difficult.
On the one hand I will always champion the rights of an individual for privacy of communication, but if that same method of communication is used for use in criminal activity, child abuse of any kind, drugs etc... then I feel just as uncomfortable at shrugging my shoulders and saying to myself "oh well, they're entitled to privacy in communications"...
There has to be a better way.... and I do not believe ANYONE in the world has a perfect solution (a totally private communications platform that doesnt have criminal activity subverting its use) but there has to be found a way....

 

[Angga B]

You can find every "illicit materials" on every other social media platform too, the singling out of Telegram is too obvious in explicitly stating that so far only Telegram do not play their rules.
Also, it is not Russia who arrest him nor do they censor his platform. So yeah, all of you freedom whiner complainer loudmouths, stop w4nking and j3rking!

 

[hahahanoobs]

I believe you should be watched more closely using these apps.

 

[Nobina]

Crazy how many people support having a police state because there might be someone doing illegal stuff. They don't even know what that stuff is, but they sure don't like it!

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Crazy how many people support having a police state because there might be someone doing illegal stuff. They don't even know what that stuff is, but they sure don't like it!

Lemmings, sheep led to slaughter. How could their government EVER abuse their powers? They're so benevolent! Totally not corrupted. See below:

I believe you should be watched more closely using these apps.

Imagine thinking this way when governments constantly abuse their power to silence those they do not like.

The balance between an individuals right to privacy AND our obligations to prevent child (sexual) abuse, terrorism and drug abuse etc... is extremely difficult.
On the one hand I will always champion the rights of an individual for privacy of communication, but if that same method of communication is used for use in criminal activity, child abuse of any kind, drugs etc... then I feel just as uncomfortable at shrugging my shoulders and saying to myself "oh well, they're entitled to privacy in communications"...
There has to be a better way.... and I do not believe ANYONE in the world has a perfect solution (a totally private communications platform that doesnt have criminal activity subverting its use) but there has to be found a way....

Maybe they should.....ARREST the people that do illegal activities, instead of installing backdoors in software that are never used to arrest these people? If the authorities demand putting a camera in every home yet never seem to be able to stop violence before it happens or find people involved, it was never about stopping violence in the first place.

People should have learned this lesson by now. People look at the soviet union, at china, and seem to think the same atrocities could never happen in their enlightened West. These mass surveillance tools are used to arrest political opposition, especially in france where twice we've had notable social media presences arrested for making comments on current leadership, while chomos run free on the internet for YEARS, known to everyone around them, without arrest.

That SHOULD be setting off alarm bells in your head.

You can find every "illicit materials" on every other social media platform too, the singling out of Telegram is too obvious in explicitly stating that so far only Telegram do not play their rules.
Also, it is not Russia who arrest him nor do they censor his platform. So yeah, all of you freedom whiner complainer loudmouths, stop w4nking and j3rking!

Yup. I dont see the CEO of google, facebook, verizon, ATT, t mobile, apple, ece being arrested in france. This is an example of the type of tyranny that Westerners love to saber rattle about, yet allow in their own countries without a second thought.

 

[dirtyferret]

Guy who runs a platform used for criminal activities get arrested, dimwitted people get upset because their political cult tells them to get upset

 

[Art C]

Coming from the nation that used to be France, this is clearly an opening salvo in an attempt to enact global blasphemy laws. Extradition treaties all need to be canceled immediately.

 

[trparky]

Guy who runs a platform used for criminal activities get arrested, dimwitted people get upset because their political cult tells them to get upset

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.
— Martin Niemöller

We're fast approaching a world where governments are cracking down on any and all free speech and people like you are happy to take it. I certainly hope that there will be someone left to speak up for you when they inevitably come after you, but I doubt there will be.

 

[Che Cazzo]

Guy who runs a platform used for criminal activities get arrested, dimwitted people get upset because their political cult tells them to get upset

Exactly. Never ceases to amaze me the amount of sanctimonious and fake outrage on this website!
Criminal activity? Child p0rn? Misogyny, etc?? Yeah, they'll defend the peddler of such criminal activity!

 

[Dimitrios]

This is why I respect Elon. I know I will get a lot of hate since this site seems to really despise Elon and have been using this site the day MAXIMUM PC Magazine recommended it years ago.

 

[dirtyferret]

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.
— Martin Niemöller

We're fast approaching a world where governments are cracking down on any and all free speech and people like you are happy to take it. I certainly hope that there will be someone left to speak up for you when they inevitably come after you, but I doubt there will be.

you sadly confuse speaking out against conservative fascism (which is what the quote is attributed to) and the American free speech which gives the right to question and petition the government. Free speech does not give the right to post fake news and be a breeding ground for illegal activity. If it was, I could go on twitter stating you are a pedophile and there is a $250k reward for taking you out and then hide behind "hey, free speech" if anyone was dumb enough to believe and act on such things.

 

[RudyBob]

"lack of moderation" More of this. I don't condone or support anything this man is accused of.

 

[bclaymiles]

you sadly confuse speaking out against conservative fascism (which is what the quote is attributed to)

Huh? Where do you get that Niemöller was a fascist? He was anything but.

and the American free speech which gives the right to question and petition the government.

The Constitution enumerates rights we already have, and expressly limits the power of government. It doesn't "give" us rights. The free expression clause is not limited to questioning the government, and petitioning the government is a separately enumerated right from free expression.

Free speech does not give the right to post fake news and be a breeding ground for illegal activity.

You're absolutely wrong on the first, and the second is vague. There's a specific, extremely limited list of things one can say that are illegal.

If it was, I could go on twitter stating you are a pedophile and there is a $250k reward for taking you out and then hide behind "hey, free speech" if anyone was dumb enough to believe and act on such things.

No, you can't go on twitter and libel someone, nor can you put up a $250k reward for "taking someone out" - unless you mean by "taking out" providing evidence they can be arrested with. Typically "taking someone out" refers to killing them. That's not protected speech.

Telegram is an encrypted medium. It has hundreds of millions of users. The CEO can't access the encrypted data, because, well, it should be obvious. Holding him liable for it is ridiculous. When is the CEO of Nike going to be arrested, for aiding in theft and murder, because said thieves and murderers frequently wear the shoes he makes while committing their crimes?

 

[dirtyferret]

Huh? Where do you get that Niemöller was a fascist? He was anything but.

When I stated above about dimwitted it did not mean to answer the call. Learn to read, educate yourself so you don't embarrass yourself again with your lack of knowledge and understanding of free speech and perhaps I will have an educated discussion with you but until then...

 

[bclaymiles]

Exactly. Never ceases to amaze me the amount of sanctimonious and fake outrage on this website!
Criminal activity? Child p0rn? Misogyny, etc?? Yeah, they'll defend the peddler of such criminal activity!

How do you propose the CEO of the company is supposed to monitor billions of communications that are encrypted? The only way is with a backdoor. A backdoor renders the privacy of one's communications null and void. The vast majority of people in the world who are not pedophiles and criminals (never knew that mysogyny is illegal!) should not give up their right to privacy in order to catch said criminals. Law enforcement can simply do their job, which 99 times out of 100, backdoor access to encrypted communications is the least effective way of catching them (pedos and other criminals tend to be stupid, and give away details in unencrypted channels constantly).

 

[bclaymiles]

When I stated above about dimwitted it did not mean to answer the call. Learn to read, educate yourself so you don't embarrass yourself again with your lack of knowledge and understanding of free and speech and perhaps I will have an educated discussion with you but until then...

First rate dodge to avoid actually defending your own arguments. Niemöller wasn't a fascist. That's easily verifiable. And your take on free speech is objectively wrong, there are countless SCOTUS rulings that toss those interpretations of free speech on the ash-heap of history.

EDIT: Oh actually - yeah, I did misinterpret your first sentence. My bad. The rest however, I stand by.