“The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron wrote on X. “This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.”
French authorities apprehended Durov upon his arrival in the country from a flight coming from Azerbaijan.
While French authorities have yet to announce any specific charges against Durov, Jean-Michel Bernigaud, head of the French agency OFMIN, which investigates crimes against children, shared on LinkedIn that Durov’s arrest stems from a lack of cooperation in moderating the platform, including fighting the spreading of pedophilic content.
Telegram is a message channeling app extremely popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other European countries. Terrorist groups such as Hamas have used the platform to communicate with one another and to spread information about their organizations. They have used Telegram to spread graphic videos from Oct. 7, 2023, and also propaganda material. It has also been used by drug traffickers and other crime organizations.
Unlike Meta and Google, which both work to comply with court orders to share with officials the date of users suspected of crimes, Durov said in an interview with Tucker Carlson that he typically ignores government requests.
Known as the Russian Mark Zuckerberg, Durov first gained prominence by creating the social media network VKontakte. He fled Russia in 2014 after officials called on him to share data on Ukrainian users with the Kremlin.
He then created Telegram with the intention of giving people a platform without government censorship or intervention. Telegram has been criticized for the spread of criminal activity and violence, but Durov said his company works to take down harmful content.
France faces allegations that it is attempting to control and censor speech. Even Russian officials are coming after their French counterparts for what they see as censorship.
“The French continue their fight for ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘European values,’” Russian lawmaker Andrey Klishas posted on Telegram.
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However, Macron insisted, France is not seeking to censor Durov or Telegram users but to ensure that its citizens’ rights and freedoms are protected.
“In a state governed by the rule of law, on social networks as in real life, freedoms are exercised within a framework established by law to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights,” Macron said. “France is committed to freedom of expression and communication, innovation and entrepreneurship. And it will remain so.”
