Telegram CEO and co-founder Pavel Durov, described by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as a “brilliant man of the world who lives wonderfully without a motherland,” was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He has lived outside his home country, which he has a complex relationship with, since 2014.
French authorities arrested Durov in France at Bourget airport outside Paris on Sunday as he was returning from Azerbaijan in his private jet.
Why Did the French Authorities Arrest Durov and What Is His Defense?
Authorities allege that Durov, as reported by Reuters, broke the law by contributing to the commission of crimes on Telegram due to the platform's lack of moderators.
As described by the French police, the Telegram CEO has refused to cooperate with local authorities to prosecute possible crimes committed through his platform, such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and the exchange of pedophilic content.
For its part, Telegram issued an official statement after Durov’s arrest, saying that it “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act” (known as the DSA) and that its CEO “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.” Telegram added: “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abusing that platform.”
Although Telegram must comply with the DSA, it is exempt from the specific responsibilities of large platforms under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) because it is below the required threshold of 45 million monthly users in Europe.
Telegram reports that it has 41 million users. The European Commission is analyzing this data closely, but unlike the iMessage case with Apple, it has yet to launch and investigation.
Durov lives in Dubai and has held dual citizenship in the United Arab Emirates and France since 2021. As a French citizen, Durov isn’t subject to extradition.
According to the BBC, the examining magistrate has extended his pre-trial detention, which, according to French law, can last up to 96 hours. After this period, the Telegram CEO will either be released or brought before a magistrate for possible formal charges.
The use of Telegram to spread hoaxes by pro-Russian groups has compromised some French military operations, such as in the one in Niger, where French troops had to withdraw after the coup.
Immediate Reactions From Russia and the U.S.
In less than 24 hours, Durov’s arrest has generated many statements, mainly from Russia and from free speech theorists who see this arrest as an attempt at censorship.
One of the first to respond by calling for Durov’s freedom was Tesla CEO Elon Musk, owner of X. Musk's social media platform is also in a content moderation battle with the European Union.
Edward Snowden, a former CIA and NSA employee exiled in Russia, has criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for having “descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications.”
From the crypto sector, Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has also been concerned, expressing that although he has “criticized Telegram before for not being serious with encryption,” this arrest “is worrying for the future of software and comms freedom in Europe.”
There were also immediate reactions in Russia. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s representative to international organizations, has written that such moves may make it “not safe” to visit certain countries.
Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, stated, “It is absolutely clear that the real reason for Pavel Durov’s arrest is the attempt to close Telegram” and that it aims “to achieve total control over freedom of expression.”
Medvedev, known for criticizing the West in his messages, has said that Durov “miscalculated” and that “for all our common enemies now, he is Russian—and therefore unpredictable and dangerous.”
The New People Party from Russia has contacted Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, the French opposition party, to support Durov’s release.
Near the French Embassy in Moscow, demonstrators approached with banners reading “Liberté pour Pavel Durov.”
The Russian Embassy in Paris has accused the French authorities of “refusing to cooperate.”
What’s the Connection Between Telegram and the Kremlin?
Telegram’s relationship with Russia is complex. On the one hand, the Russian government has threatened to block the messaging app on several occasions, but on the other hand, investigations such as Kremlingram point to evidence linking Telegram and its lack of transparency to the Kremlin’s interests.
In The Tucker Carlson Interview, Durov explained that the company has 1 billion active users. He added that the company has never run advertising and has only 30 employees. Durov is the principal director, investor, and product manager.
“For most of Telegram’s history, I paid the company’s expenses from my personal savings,” Durov explained. Specifically, they were savings from Vkontakte (VK), the Russian social network platform he founded in 2006. Durov sold a 12% stake of VK in 2015 for $300 million.
As Durov explained to Reuters, VK fired him because the Kremlin demanded access to the data of Ukrainian leaders behind a series of protests against the annexation of Crimea. In addition, Durov told The New York Times he had to go into exile from Russia in 2014 when police showed up at his home.
Authorities have long threatened to ban Telegram in the country Russia, but they haven’t materialized. In 2017, the Russian government threatened to block the app for failing to provide user data and imposed a fine of about $20,000. In 2018, the ban reached the Russian courts.
In 2020, after more than two years of wrangling, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation issued a statement explaining that the app was once again accessible due to its “ability to combat terrorism and extremism.”
As Wired describes, in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government introduced a law to monitor “dangerous subjects,” Telegram is one of the platforms described as collaborating in this action. However, Telegram denies it works with the government on this matter.
According to Deloitte, Telegram is a very popular app in Russia, where residents have downloaded it more than 100 million times. More than 50% of the population has installed it.
Durov’s interests regarding Russia aren’t apparent. Still, it seems evident that the Telegram CEO knew French authorities could arrest him when he traveled to France.
Telegram Is Far From a Safe App
Durov has led campaigns in the past to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt, specifically against WhatsApp and Signal. He claimed, without evidence, that “the U.S. government spent $3M to create Signal’s encryption.” Notably, the critique points to a problem that can also affect Telegram: encryption.
Telegram has end-to-end encryption (E2EE), but the company doesn’t enable it by default. It has MTProto client-server encryption for individual and group chats and a Secret Chats option. This makes Telegram much less secure than WhatsApp, which has E2EE encryption enabled by default. Telegram says this is to “avoid suspicion in certain countries.”
WhatsApp head Will Cathcart said criticized this decision a year. “In addition to not securing people’s messages, Telegram’s blunders have put people at risk," Cathcart said.
“At the start of the war… it was possible to spoof Telegram’s locations API to pinpoint any user within a 2-mile radius if they had recently turned on their location,” the WhatsApp chief explained.
Beyond criticisms about encryption and security, Telegram has been controversial for its lack of moderation in many countries.
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