Emmanuel Macron is making it clear—he had nothing to do with Pavel Durov’s arrest. The founder of Telegram, was recently picked up in Paris, and rumors started flying that Macron might be involved. That maybe it was politically motivated for the sake of Israel and Ukraine.
But Macron isn’t having any of it. He said:
“France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so.”
He added that the justice system is independent, and it’s their job to decide who gets arrested, not politicians. He wanted to make it crystal clear that Pavel’s arrest was part of a judicial investigation that’s still going on and had nothing to do with any political agenda.
Earlier on, Telegram put out a statement backing their founder. They said Pavel has nothing to hide and regularly travels around Europe, which made the timing of the arrest seem a bit suspect. They also pushed back hard against the idea that a platform or its owner should be blamed for what people do on it.
Telegram stands by Pavel and is expecting a quick resolution to this problem. They also made it clear that they’re playing by the rules—especially when it comes to European Union regulations.
They say their content moderation is up to par with industry standards and keeps improving. They were pretty firm in saying Pavel did nothing wrong and that holding him responsible for how users misuse the platform is just ridiculous.
Now, let’s talk about why Pavel was arrested in the first place. The charges are no joke. He’s accused of some serious stuff, including complicity in drug trafficking.
Authorities claim that Telegram’s lack of moderation has allowed drug trafficking to flourish on the platform. That’s a big one.
But that’s not all. Pavel is also being accused of negligence when it comes to preventing the spread of child sexual exploitation content on Telegram. And it gets worse—there are also charges related to fraud and organized crime.
Investigators say that by not taking action, Pavel has let criminal activities thrive on Telegram. With its massive user base and minimal content moderation, the platform has become a breeding ground for this kind of stuff, according to the authorities.
But wait, there’s more. Pavel is also facing accusations related to cyberbullying and even the promotion of terrorism.
