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Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram,\u00a0was arrested in Paris<\/a>\u00a0over the weekend over allegations that his platform is being used for illicit activity such as drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.<\/p>\n Durov, who was born in Russia, spent much of his childhood in Italy and is a citizen of France, Russia, the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis and the United Arab Emirates. He was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport in France on Saturday after landing from Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n In a statement posted to its platform, Telegram said it abides by EU laws and its content moderation is \u201cwithin industry standards and constantly improving.\u201d Durov, the company added, \u201chas nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are some details on Telegram, the app at the center of Durov\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n Telegram is an app that allows for one-on-one conversations, group chats and large \u201cchannels\u201d that let people broadcast messages to subscribers. Unlike rivals such as Meta\u2019s WhatsApp, Telegram\u2019s group chats allow as many as 200,000 people, compared to a maximum of 1,024 for WhatsApp. Experts have raised concerns that misinformation spreads easily in group chats of this size.<\/p>\n Telegram offers encryption for their communications, but \u2014 contrary to a popular misconception \u2014 this feature is not on by default. Users have to switch on the option to encrypt their chats. It also doesn\u2019t work with group chats. That contrasts with rival Signal and\u00a0Facebook Messenger<\/a>, where chats are encrypted end-to-end by default.<\/p>\n Telegram says it has more than 950 million active users. It is widely used in France as a messaging tool, including by some officials in the presidential palace and in the ministry behind the investigation into Durov. But French investigators have also found the app has been\u00a0used by Islamic extremists<\/a>\u00a0and drug traffickers.<\/p>\n Telegram was launched in 2013 by Durov and his brother Nikolai. According to Telegram, Pavel Durov supports the app \u201cfinancially and ideologically while Nikolai\u2019s input is technological.\u201d<\/p>\n Before Telegram, Durov founded VKontakte, Russia\u2019s largest social network. The company came under pressure amid the Russian government\u2019s crackdown after\u00a0mass pro-democracy protests<\/a>\u00a0rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012. Durov said government authorities demanded that the VKontakte take down the online communities of Russian opposition activists. It later asked the platform to hand over the personal data of users who took part in the 2013 uprising in Ukraine, which eventually ousted a pro-Kremlin president.<\/p>\n But Durov sold his stake in VKontakte after pressure from Russian authorities in 2014. He also left the country. Today, Telegram is based in Dubai, which Durov called \u201cthe best place for a neutral platform like ours to be in if we want to make sure we can defend our users\u2019 privacy and freedom of speech\u201d in an April\u00a0interview<\/a>\u00a0with conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson.<\/p>\n French media has reported that Durov was detained on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses. As of Monday afternoon, he had not been charged, and few details were available on the investigation.<\/p>\n On Sunday night, a French investigative judge extended Durov\u2019s detention order, French media reported on Monday. Under French law, Durov can remain in custody for questioning for up to four days. After that, judges must decide to either charge him or release him.<\/p>\n In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on reports of Durov\u2019s arrest in France.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still don\u2019t know what exactly Durov is being accused of,\u201d Peskov said Monday during his daily media conference call. \u201cWe haven\u2019t heard any official statements on that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s wait until the charges are announced \u2013 if they are announced,\u201d Peskov said.<\/p>\n Russian government officials have expressed outrage at Durov\u2019s detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West\u2019s double standard on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics: in 2018 Russian authorities themselves tried to block Telegram but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X<\/a> who has called himself a \u201c\u00a0free speech absolutist<\/a>,\u201d has been speaking out in support of Durov and posted \u201d#freePavel\u201d following the arrest.<\/p>\n In a statement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws, and its moderation is \u201cwithin industry standards and constantly improving.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,\u201d Telegram\u2019s post said. \u201cAlmost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information. We\u2019re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.\u201d<\/p>\n Western governments have often criticized Telegram for a lack of content moderation, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of material linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.<\/p>\n Compared to other messaging platforms, Telegram is \u201cless secure (and) more lax in terms of policy and detection of illegal content,\u201d said David Thiel, a Stanford University researcher, who has investigated the use of online platforms for child exploitation, at its Internet Observatory.<\/p>\n In addition, Telegram \u201cappears basically unresponsive to law enforcement,\u201d Thiel said, adding that messaging service WhatsApp \u201csubmitted over 1.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2023 (and) Telegram submits none.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2022,\u00a0Germany issued fines<\/a>\u00a0of 5.125 million euros ($5 million) against the operators of Telegram for failing to comply with German law. The Federal Office of Justice said that Telegram FZ-LLC hasn\u2019t established a lawful way for reporting illegal content or named an entity in Germany to receive official communication.<\/p>\n Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.<\/p>\n\nWHAT IS TELEGRAM?<\/h4>\n
WHY WAS DUROV ARRESTED?<\/h4>\n
WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE?<\/h4>\n
DOES TELEGRAM MODERATE CONTENT?<\/h4>\n