Telegram Co-founder Pavel Durov, Arrested by French Authorities

Pavel Valeryevich Durov, the CEO and founder of the Telegram App, was arrested in Paris due to the allegations on his platform that it is being used for illegitimate activities like the distribution of children sexually abusive images and drug trafficking. 

Read the given news article that covers Pavel Durov’s arrest in Paris by French Authorities in 2024. 

Pavel Durov Telegram Founder Arrest News Details

Pavel Valeryevich Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, a cloud-based, cross-platform, social media and instant messaging service, was arrested in Paris due to the allegations. His platform was accused of being used for illegitimate content including inappropriate child images and drug trafficking. 

Pavel Durov Nationality

At the Paris-Le Bourget Airport in France, Durov was taken into custody after arriving back from Azerbaijan on 24th August 2024 (Saturday). The CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, was born in Russia and spent his childhood in Italy. He is a citizen of France, Russia, the Caribbean Island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and the United Arab Emirates. 

How did Telegram defend its Point?

In a statement posted to the Telegram platform, it stated that the platform follows the EU Laws and the content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.” Durov’s company added, “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”

The child pornography and leaked examination papers on Telegram have led to further inspection by Indian Law Enforcement agencies. 

What is Telegram and how does it Work?

Telegram was launched back in 2013, by siblings - Pavel and Nikolai Durov, as a basic messaging app like others (WhatsApp). On this app, users can generate or join channels and these channels share content with the members. 

It is also used for chatting, news updates, movies, or any other large file share. It is presently used by over 90 Crores of users around the top countries including - India. Russia. Ukraine, Brazil, and Indonesia. 

It is said that the platform has taken off all the brutal content and matters related to child sexual abuse, it has now become a medium for drug sellers, terrorist organizations, and far-right extremist groups, who share harmful content using this app.

Whereas WhatsApp can have a maximum of 1,024 members in a group, in Telegram one can add more than 2 Lakh people in a single group. Nikolai supports the app technically, whereas, Pavel supports the app financially and ideologically.

How did the Law Enforcement Authorities React to this Matter?

The Law Enforcement authorities expressed their frustration over the Telegram platform’s incapability to take down the harmful matter and incapacity to trace the account holders. 

The Child safety organizations of the UK, the US, and Canada blamed Telegram for ignoring their appeal to take action against the Children's Sexually Abusive content on Telegram. Telegram’s official website states that:

“All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them. We have disclosed 0 bytes of user data to third parties, including governments.” 

This app has also placed itself as an app that has user privacy as a preference and makes sure that the chats are Encrypted and other add-on features like disappearing messages. Some claim that end-to-end encryption is not applicable for each conversation by default. 

Is Telegram Banned in India? 

The Telegram platform is either temporarily or permanently banned in more than 31 nations to date. Telegram is not yet banned in India but due to the charges on its CEO cum Co-founder, the nation's decision to ban this app like other countries is expected. 

Indian Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has arrived at the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to inspect the pending complaints against Telegram in a similar matter. India, like other nations, has also witnessed many security incidents and frauds that have been shared on Telegram. 

A bot on Telegram leaked the COVID-19 details of vaccine beneficiaries stored on the Government’s CoWIN Database in 2013. An admin of the Telegram channel was involved in a stock-price rigging racket on Telegram that was exposed by the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India).

What did John Scott-Railton Say about Telegram?

John Scott-Railton, a Senior Researcher at Citizen Lab (at The University of Toronto), focuses on the Technological hazards in civil societies. He has stated about Telegram that:

“Popular Telegram features like group chats and channels are not end-to-end encrypted. That means that Telegram can access their contents,”

He added:

“Similarly, messages between users are not end-to-end encrypted by default, which means that Telegram could also access these messages. Only Telegram’s opt-in ‘secret chat’ feature is end-to-end encrypted, which would prevent Telegram from accessing the chat contents.”

Why did the Police arrest Pavel Durov, the CEO and Co-Founder of Telegram?

Pavel Durov was arrested in France for a judicial inquiry that opened last month including 12 alleged criminal violations as per the Paris Prosecutors. It is believed that the violations involved the selling of children's sexual material and drug trafficking, promoting organized criminal material transactions, and denying to share the details and documents with the investigators when asked lawfully. 

What was the response to Pavel Durov’s arrest?

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin Spokesperson in Russia, stated

“We still don’t know what exactly Durov is being accused of. We haven’t heard any official statements on that matter.”

He added:

“Let’s wait until the charges are announced — if they are announced.” 

The Russian Government has expressed its anger with some calling it a political trap and others calling it proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech. 

Elon Musk, the billionaire and owner of X, also mentioned himself as a “free speech absolutist,” and posted “#freePavel” in support of Pavel Durov.

What did the Telegram Post do after Pavel Durov’s arrest?

Telegram, after its CEO’s arrest, posted that:

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,”

Further added:

“Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”

Conclusion

This blog covers all about Pavel Durov’s arrest by the Fresh authorities and their reactions to this. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Telegram who has been arrested due to some serious allegations on this app.If you liked the above-mentioned information, you can bookmark the site and stay updated with the current information.