Telegram’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested at a Paris airport amid allegations that the messenger app was being used for money laundering, drug trafficking, and the distribution of child sexual abuse images, among other offenses.
What Is the Telegram Social Media Platform?
Telegram is a direct message, group chat, and “channel” platform with more than 950 million active users and a wide base in France. Group chats can include upwards of 200,000 people, a staggering size compared to Meta’s WhatsApp maximum of 1,024. With communication not being automatically encrypted and the sheer scale of some groups, it’s easy to understand how misinformation and relaxed standards can arise.
Origins of the Company and Its Founder
Before Telegram, Durov founded Russia’s largest social network, VKontakte. After Moscow demanded that Telegram take down accounts and communities for Russian opposition groups and requested data from users who participated in the 2013 Ukraine uprising, Durov sold his stake in the company in 2014. He launched Telegram with his brother Nikolai in Dubai in 2013, which he feels is the best place for a neutral, freedom-of-speech platform.
Durov was born in Russia but holds citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, France, Russia, and the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. He had landed at the Paris-Le Bourget Airport after a flight from Azerbaijan when French authorities took him into custody.
How the Arrest Came to Take Place
The judicial inquiry which resulted in Durov’s detainment was opened in July amid 12 alleged criminal violations, suspected to include child sexual abuse material and in drug trafficking, fraud, abetting organized crime transactions, and refusing to share information or documents with investigators when required by law, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
A Mixed Response to the Accusations
While Russian government officials have responded to Durov’s detention with accusations of political motivations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment directly. Rather, he claimed that Russia did not know what the accusations against Durov were, so he decided to wait and see if official charges were announced. Russia has attempted to block Telegram but failed to do so. Critics have pointed to Russia’s apparent lack of consistency on this matter, supporting the Telegram platform now, which it planned to block as recently as 2018.
Telegram itself has stated on its platform that it abides by EU laws and regulations and that Durov’s constant travels to Europe demonstrate that he has nothing to hide. X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk has posted “#freepavel” to his platform in support of Durov, apparently suggesting a shared perspective on free speech.
“It is absurd to claim,” the Telegram post argues, “that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.” With almost a billion users, Telegram’s wide scope could certainly make it difficult for the company to moderate its service.
Persistent Moderation Issues
Lack of moderation is one of the major concerns voiced by experts like David Thiel, a Stanford University researcher. Where Telegram is “unresponsive to law enforcement,” Thiel says, “[WhatsApp] submitted over 1.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2023—Telegram submits none.” Even in terms of policy, Telegram’s moderation appears relaxed in comparison to the competition.
Germany’s Federal Office of Justice issued $5 million in fines against Telegram in 2022 for failing to establish a lawful means of reporting illegal content to German authorities. In fact, the company has not even named a German entity that would receive such communications, both of which are requirements for major online platforms operating in Germany.
In 2023, Brazil responded to Telegram’s failure to provide data regarding a series of school shootings that took place in November and related neo-Nazi activities. A federal judge temporarily suspended the platform, ordering app stores to block Telegram on their platforms.
