Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of Telegram, was arrested at Bourget Airport near Paris. Durov, who left Russia in 2014 after refusing to censor his previous platform VK, established Telegram in Dubai. The messaging app has gained significant popularity, especially in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, and is expected to reach over one billion users next year.
French media reported that Durov’s arrest was linked to concerns over Telegram’s lack of content moderation, with authorities accusing him of allowing criminal activity to thrive on the platform.
Telegram has been a key source of uncensored information during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, used by both Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Russian government representatives to communicate with the public.
Despite previous bans in Russia due to Durov’s refusal to provide user data, Telegram was unbanned in 2022.
Tucker Carlson criticized Durov’s arrest
“Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away,” Carlson wrote in an X post.
“Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world.”
