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Telegram is supporting its CEO Pavel Durov, who was arrested in France on Saturday and is reportedly still being held for questioning. The messaging platform said he has “nothing to hide.”
The Russian-born billionaire was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris as part of an investigation into an alleged lack of moderation on Telegram, which police said allowed criminal activity – including crimes against minors – to go undetected on the app.
“Telegram complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is in line with industry standards and is constantly improving,” the platform said. “Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform.”
Toncoin, the token of the Open Network associated with Telegram, fell over 20% shortly after the arrest. The digital asset has since reduced its losses and was +0.5% at the time of writing.
The arrest sparked widespread backlash online. Elon Musk, CEO of social media app X, tweeted a response from xAI’s chatbot Grok when asked about Durov’s arrest. “Check out this First Amendment ad. It’s very compelling,” he captioned the post.
Rumble (NASDAQ:RUM) CEO Chris Pavlovski said France threatened the conservative-leaning media platform and “crossed a red line” with Durov’s arrest. “Rumble will use all available legal means to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right.”
American whistleblower Edward Snowden called Durov’s arrest “an attack on the basic human rights of freedom of expression and association.” Conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson said the arrest was “a living warning to all platform owners who refuse to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intelligence agencies.”
