Summary
- Durov described his August 2024 arrest as “legally and logically absurd,” asserting that French police detained him over users he was not familiar with.
- The Telegram CEO is required to check in with French authorities every two weeks, despite investigations finding no evidence of wrongdoing by him or his platform.
- Durov remains under judicial supervision in France, needing to report biweekly, with no date set for an appeal.
Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov referred to his arrest by French authorities as “legally and logically absurd” on Sunday, marking one year since he was held for four days due to alleged illegal activities on his messaging platform.
In a thread on X posted exactly one year after his arrest at Le Bourget airport near Paris, the 40-year-old tech entrepreneur indicated he still must return to France every 14 days with “no appeal date in sight.”
Following his release on a €5 million (US$5.8 million) bail, Durov has briefly traveled to Dubai, the headquarters of Telegram, while remaining under judicial supervision.
Durov was initially arrested on accusations related to alleged criminal behavior on his messaging platform, which prosecutors claimed he failed to moderate effectively.
“The only outcome of my arrest has been significant damage to France’s reputation as a free country,” he tweeted on Sunday.
“This legal action against a platform’s CEO over user behavior underscores a fundamental conflict between outdated legal systems and the core Web3 principle of individual autonomy,” noted HashKey Group chief analyst Jeffrey Ding in a discussion with Decrypt.
The situation sparks a “larger, global conversation” about the balance between progress and “regulatory oversight” in the digital landscape, he added.
Durov’s arrest had an immediate effect on cryptocurrency markets, leading to a sharp drop in Toncoin (TON), the native token of The Open Network blockchain closely affiliated with Telegram, as news circulated.
French authorities detained Durov for charges including complicity in distributing child pornography, drug trafficking, and organized fraud, claiming Telegram’s encryption features were misused without governmental consent.
The National Anti-Fraud Office alleged that the platform refused to cooperate with law enforcement and inadequately moderated illicit content.
Durov’s detention faced backlash from figures such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to defend France’s stance on free expression.
However, Durov countered these claims, alleging that the French authorities made procedural errors that demonstrated their inefficiency, stating they could have easily learned the correct process through simple online research.
He emphasized that Telegram was straightforward to contact, asserting they have always complied with every legally binding request from France.
Durov remarked that his platform’s “moderation strategies conform to industry benchmarks,” insisting “we’ll persist in our battle—and we will succeed.”
Kadan Stadelmann, CTO at Komodo Platform, expressed to Decrypt that “European governments are launching an offensive against privacy by forcing compliance from platforms promoting encryption and user freedom.”
He pointed out that “Russia and Iran banned Telegram for refusing to surrender surveillance keys,” indicating a trend where “governments aim to deter developers from creating encrypted technologies that challenge their centralized authority.”
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