tl;dr
Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested in Paris and indicted for illegal activities related to the use of Telegram, including drug trafficking, organized fraud, and distribution of child pornography. French authorities accused Telegram of not doing enough to combat criminal activity ...
Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested in Paris and indicted for illegal activities related to the use of Telegram, including drug trafficking, organized fraud, and distribution of child pornography. French authorities accused Telegram of not doing enough to combat criminal activity on the platform.
Durov defended the company, stating that they take down harmful content daily but admitted to challenges due to a sharp increase in user count. He also expressed willingness to leave markets that conflict with Telegram's principles.
Durov criticized the French government's approach, stating that holding a CEO criminally accountable for third-party actions is misguided and could stifle innovation. Durov was released on judicial supervision and is required to stay in France during the investigation.
In a public post on his Telegram channel, Durov said he and his company were not hard to reach. He pushed back on assertions that Telegram is awash in criminals, stating that "The claims in some media that Telegram is some sort of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue."
According to Durov, Telegram doesn’t always find agreement with a country’s regulatory body when it comes to enforcement, and in those cases, it is willing to leave. He criticized the very basis of the French government’s action, noting that holding a CEO criminally accountable for third-party actions on the platform he manages is a misguided approach.
Durov was released on judicial supervision during the investigation and is required to stay in France in the interim.