Detained Telegram CEO Pushes Back Against Charges

Pavel Durov, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder of the popular messaging app, Telegram, has spoken out against his arrest.

On Sept. 5, Durov published his first public statement since French authorities arrested him on Aug. 25, disputing the charges levied against him.

Durov is accused of complicity in a slew of cybercrimes for failing to enforce content moderation on the platform. However, Durov said the claims against him and assertions the platform is an anarchist paradise are “absolutely untrue.”

“I was told I may be personally responsible for other people’s illegal use of Telegram,” Durov said. “We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day… Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach.”

French authorities are currently investigating whether Durov facilitated narcotics sales, fraud, money laundering, child pornography distribution, and offering tools for unregulated cryptocurrency. Durov is currently required to stay in France under judicial supervision, with bail set at $5.56 million.

The arrest has also spurred diplomatic tensions, with Russian officials demanding explanations from France and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) closely monitoring the situation, as Durov was born in Russia and holds Emirati citizenship.

Government dialogue

Durov said he was arrested because French authorities did not receive a response from Telegram after attempting to contact the platform. Durov described the situation as “surprising,” noting that Telegram has an official representative in the European Union (EU) that facilitates requests from the EU.

“Its email address has been publicly available for anyone in the EU who googles 'Telegram EU address for law enforcement',” he said. “We’ve been committed to engaging with regulators to find the right balance.”

Durov added that previously helped to establish a “hotline” with Telegram to address terrorism threats in France.

However, Durov also noted that Telegram has stopped operating in jurisdictions with governments that have sought to compromise the company’s principles.

“When Russia demanded we hand over ‘encryption keys’ to enable surveillance, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Russia,” he wrote. “When Iran demanded we block channels of peaceful protesters, we refused — and Telegram got banned in Iran.”

South Korea sets sights on Telegram

On Sept. 2, South Korean police launched an investigation into Telegram concerning deepfake sex crimes.

Woo Jong-soo, head of South Korea’s National Office of Investigation, said local police plan to collaborate with French authorities and other international bodies in the inquiry.

“Telegram does not readily provide investigation data, such as account information, to us or other state investigative bodies, including those in the U.S," Jong-soo said.

South Korean police said 88 deepfake sex crime reports were filed last week, leading to the identification of 24 possible suspects. Eight Telegram-based programs for creating deepfake pornography are under scrutiny, alongside channels responsible for distributing the content.

Past disputes

The French and South Korean investigations are the latest examples of regulators setting their sights on Telegram.

In 2015, China blocked Telegram following concerns that it was being used by human rights lawyers and activists to organize and share sensitive information, often critical of the government.

In 2018, Iran banned Telegram, claiming it was being used to organize protests and spread anti-government messages.

From 2018 to 2020, Telegram was banned in Russia after it refused to hand over encryption keys to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) due to privacy concerns. The ban was lifted in 2020 after Telegram agreed to help combat terrorism on the platform.

In 2023, Telegram was temporarily banned in Brazil for failing to comply with judicial requests related to neo-Nazi activities on the platform.

That same year, a court in Spain temporarily banned Telegram after four major media groups complained that the app was being used to share copyrighted content without authorization. The judge ordered the app to be blocked when Telegram did not respond to requests for information. However, the ban was reversed following widespread criticism.

One day after Durov’s arrest, the Indian government began an investigation into Telegram’s alleged use in the context of illicit activities including extortion and gambling.