Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, who is currently under investigation in France, has publicly criticized French authorities for detaining him instead of addressing their complaints to his company.
What Happened: On Thursday, in his first public comment after detention last month, the Russian-born French national, refuted any claims that his app is an “anarchic paradise” and expressed surprise at the investigation.
“The French authorities had numerous ways to reach me to request assistance,” he stated in a post on Telegram, adding, “A while ago, when asked, I personally helped them establish a hotline with Telegram to deal with the threat of terrorism in France.”
Durov was detained in France last month amid an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions associated with the app.
Durov argued that if a country has issues with an internet service, legal action should target the service, not its CEO. He stressed that no innovator will develop new tools if they risk personal liability for potential misuse.
Sharing the post on X, formerly Twitter, he stated, “I’m still trying to understand what happened in France. But we hear the concerns. I made it my personal goal to prevent abusers of Telegram’s platform from interfering with the future of our 950+ million users.”
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Why It Matters: Durov’s detention and the subsequent investigation have been a topic of international discussion. Last month, the Telegram CEO was formally charged by a judge in France for allegedly failing to address criminal activities on his platform.
The investigation has also raised questions about Telegram’s financial health, which could potentially hinder its $30B IPO. The app has also come under scrutiny in South Korea for its alleged involvement in the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfake content.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commented on Durov’s legal troubles, suggesting that his approach to running the app was too free and that he did not heed Western advice.
Meanwhile, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who acquired the social media platform X for $44 billion in 2022, has also said that it would be wise of him to “limit movements to countries where free speech is constitutionally protected.”
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