The arrest of the Russian-born billionaire founder of Telegram, a messaging app known for its unfiltered content, has sparked debate about freedom of speech and illegal content on the internet.
Pavel Durov was detained at Paris’s Bourget Airport Saturday on an arrest warrant related to Telegram’s lack of moderation, which has led to money laundering, drug trafficking and the spread of pedophilic content on the platform, according to CNN-affiliate BFMTV.
Durov was traveling to Paris from Azerbaijan aboard his private jet, the network reported.
Telegram, which has about 900 million users, is a crucial communication tool in many countries, used for everything from day-to-day chatting to disseminating government messages.
On Sunday, the Russian Embassy in Paris confirmed Durov’s detention and said it was in contact with the entrepreneur’s attorney. The French prosecutor’s office has not responded to CNN’s request for comment
Durov’s arrest raises questions about whether tech bosses should be responsible for the content on their platforms, a prospect Telegram called “absurd” in a statement issued Sunday defending its CEO.
“Encrypted communications apps like Telegram are free speech to some and an on-ramp to the dark web to others,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA and a technology expert.
The app is known for its high-level encryption and limited oversight on what its users post, which makes it highly susceptible to disinformation, conspiracy theories, hate and other harmful content.
Telegram’s firm stance against censorship has made it especially prominent in countries where freedom of speech is curtailed, such as Russia, Iran and India.
The platform is also favored by White supremacists and terror groups including ISIS.
Telegram is also very popular in Ukraine, where it has become a vital tool for sharing news about the war and warnings about air raids.
In its Sunday statement, Telegram noted that Durov had “nothing to hide” and it was “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”
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