A lawyer for Telegram boss Pavel Durov said Thursday it was “absurd” for French authorities to claim the Russian-born billionaire should be held personally liable for criminal activity on the social media app.
Durov, 39, was charged on Wednesday with complicity in drug trafficking, child sexual abuse, fraud and various abuses committed on Telegram.
The tech mogul, who has an estimated net worth of $9 billion, was seen rushing out of a secured facility in an all-black outfit after being released on $5.6 million bail, according to a video by posted on X Thursday.
David-Olivier Kaminski, Durov’s lawyer in France, said it was “absurd to say that a platform or its boss is responsible for every abuse” that users do.
Telegram has complied with European laws, Kaminiski added.
Durov, who holds citizenship in France, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, was arrested in Paris last Saturday.
He was ordered to stay in France and check in at a local police station twice a week while authorities investigated the litany of allegations.
French authorities also accused Durov of being uncooperative when law enforcement officials submitted requests for information about possible criminal activity on the app. He is also accused of facilitating fraud and money laundering through Telegram.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau cited an “almost total lack” of responses to legal requests as she outlined the charges against Durov.
Telegram previously claimed that Durov – often referred to as Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg – has “nothing to hide”.
His arrest sparked a wave of online debate about the potential implications for free speech – with billionaire X owner Elon Musk among those attacking French authorities over his arrest.
The Kremlin has also weighed in on a case that has further strained Russia’s relations with France, saying the prosecution of Durov, whose messaging app is used by nearly 1 billion people, should not turn into “political persecution”.
French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that the charges against Durov are “in no way political” and that the country is “deeply committed” to freedom of speech.
Durov’s arrest is the first for a CEO of a major messaging platform. But with tensions rising between governments and social media giants, it’s not the first time Telegram has run afoul of police and judicial authorities.
Follow the latest on the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov:
In 2023, a Brazilian court ordered a temporary suspension of the app until it complies with an order to share information on extremist and neo-Nazi groups that use the platform.
Do a ‘better job’?
A year ago, as a Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered the suspension of Telegram, saying it had repeatedly refused to comply with court orders, Durov blamed his company’s shortcomings for the email issues, saying that ” we definitely could have done a better job.”
“I am confident that once a reliable communication channel is established, we will be able to efficiently process requests to remove public channels that are illegal in Brazil,” he wrote.
A French police source said this week that Telegram was considered much less willing to cooperate with authorities than other social media. But others are also facing heat from authorities.
Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday to appoint a legal representative for his messaging platform X in Brazil within 24 hours or face having the site suspended in the country.
The billionaire owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, had said after reports of Durov’s ban: “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said this week that the Harris-Biden administration had pressured the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic, apparently referring to requests from the White House to remove what claimed to be misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines. .
Telegram is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. The platform has become crucial for battlefield communications in the war in Ukraine and is used by governments and soldiers on both sides of the war to share war-related news and propaganda.
“The main thing is that what is happening in France does not turn into political persecution,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
“We know that the president of France has denied any (casual) connection with politics, but on the other hand certain accusations are being made. We’ll see what happens next.”
Russia has previously tried, and failed, to block Telegram and has fined the company several times for failing to remove what it considered illegal content.
Macron, who has long been keen to position France as a technology hub, had lunch with Durov in 2018 as part of a series of meetings with tech entrepreneurs, a source close to the president said, and Durov was granted citizenship. French in 2021 under a rare procedure for high-profile individuals.
By postal wire
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