Pavel Durov freed from French police custody, en route to court

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov just got out of police custody in France today August 28, 2024. He was held for four days after getting arrested at Le Bourget Airport, just outside of Paris. 

Why? French authorities have been digging into some pretty serious claims against Telegram, like its users using the platform for some nasty stuff—child sexual abuse material, drug deals, fraud, and organized crime – without proper moderation.

French law generally allows the cops to hold someone for up to 96 hours without specifics, and that’s exactly what they did with Pavel. They even stretched it out a bit, giving themselves an extra 48 hours on August 26 to figure out whether they should charge him or let him go.

They were really milking the clock on this one. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron was busy trying to put out fires. He insisted that the arrest wasn’t some political vendetta but part of an independent legal process.

Macron points out France’s commitment to freedom of speech

Macron was all about emphasizing France’s commitment to freedom of speech, as long as it’s within the boundaries of the law. He wanted to make it clear that this wasn’t about going after Pavel personally or trying to take down Telegram.

But not everyone’s buying that. Vitalik Buterin, Elon Musk, and John Deaton have all slammed him for it.

Telegram’s history of not exactly bending over backward to cooperate with authorities didn’t do Pavel any favors. Some folks are even wondering if this is just the beginning of a bigger crackdown on platforms like Telegram that don’t toe the line.

Now that Pavel is out of the rough, he’s headed straight to court in Paris. The big question is whether prosecutors are going to slap him with charges or let him walk with a fine.

Meanwhile, in their official statement, the Telegram team said they’ve been sticking to EU laws and doing their part to moderate content.

This post is being updated.