Pavel Durov, the 39-year-old founder and CEO of Telegram, has been released from French custody after four days of questioning and transferred to a Paris court for a possible indictment. The investigation, which began on July 8, involves 12 alleged crimes, including failure to combat the spread of criminal content on Telegram, such as child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraud.According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, ‘An investigating judge has ended Pavel Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court for a first appearance and a possible indictment’. Durov was initially detained on August 24 at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, where he claimed he was arriving for dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron.In a significant development, it has been revealed that French authorities issued arrest warrants for both Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, a co-founder of Telegram, as early as March 25, 2024. The warrants charge them with ‘participation in the storage, dissemination, proposal or provision of pornographic images of minors as part of an organized group’. However, there is no evidence that either brother was directly involved in any crimes.Telegram, which boasts over 900 million users, has denied the allegations, stating that it ‘complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act’ and that it is ‘absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform’.The case has sparked international debate about platform responsibility, freedom of speech, and government regulation of digital communication. Russian government officials have condemned Durov’s detention, suggesting it could be viewed as an act of intimidation and a suppression of freedom of speech if France does not provide serious evidence of his guilt. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that the decision to press charges against Durov is ‘in no way political’.As the legal proceedings unfold, the case continues to raise important questions about the balance between online safety and free expression in the digital age.
Key points
- Pavel Durov has been released from French custody and transferred to a Paris court for possible indictment.
- French authorities issued arrest warrants for both Pavel and Nikolai Durov in March 2024.
- The investigation involves 12 alleged crimes related to criminal content on Telegram.
- The case has sparked international debate about platform responsibility and freedom of speech.
Contradictions👾While some sources state that Pavel Durov was detained on August 24, others report the date as August 25.
👾There are conflicting reports about whether Durov was arriving for a dinner with President Macron or if this was a claim made by Durov himself.
