Pavel Durov arrested by French authorities over Telegram app
Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, has been arrested at an airport just outside Paris late on the evening of Saturday August 24th, according to Reuters.
It is unclear whether he intended to travel to France or his private jet was diverted to land in Paris, given that there is an arrest warrant out for him by French authorities for refusing to let the French state have a ‘back door’ into his Telegram platform.
Durov faces possible indictment on Sunday August 25th, according to French media.
The encrypted Telegram, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat. Durov has been a thorn in the side for western elites for years as Telegram refuses to vet who it allows on its platform and is hugely successful. Western governments, in particular, the US want to gain access to it to control the narrative on the Ukraine war but also want to use it for nefarious means against political opponents.
Reuters/Levantis
