Telegram Chief Pavel Durov Arrested in France
2024-08-27
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1The founder and chief executive of the Telegram messaging service, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France over the weekend.
2The reports said police detained Durov Saturday night at Le Bourget airport in Paris.
3Durov holds citizenship in both France and Russia.
4He landed in France after a flight from Azerbaijan, French broadcasters LCI and TF1 reported.
5French media reported on Monday that Durov's arrest was linked to a French investigation that found evidence that Telegram had failed to reduce the spread of illegal material on its service.
6French President Emmanuel Macron said the arrest was "in no way a political decision."
7He said on the social media service X that France "is deeply committed" to freedom of expression.
8But he added, "Freedoms are upheld with in a legal framework."
9The arrest of the 39-year-old Durov was reportedly sought by a French investigative agency that examines crimes against minors.
10The French media says officials are investigating crimes including money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses.
11In a statement issued Monday, Telegram said the company obeys all European Union laws, including the Digital Services Act.
12It added that Telegram's moderation methods operate within industry standards and are always being improved.
13Durov "has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe," the company said.
14The statement added, "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."
15Representatives for Durov could not be immediately reached for comment.
16French law enforcement officials also offered no comment because the investigation is ongoing.
17Durov founded Telegram with his brother in reaction to Russian government efforts to crush large pro-democracy protests that took place in Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.
18The demonstrations led the Russian government to introduce new restrictions on internet operations in the country.
19Durov left Russia in 2014.
20Russia's agency that governs technology companies at one time tried to block Telegram but was unsuccessful in fully restricting the service.
21In March, the government said it was working with Telegram to remove content that violated Russian laws.
22The messaging service is currently a popular source of news in Ukraine, The Associated Press (AP) reports.
23Telegram is reportedly used by both government officials and the media to share information on Ukraine's war with Russia.
24It has also been used to send missile and air raid warnings to citizens during the conflict.
25Western governments have criticized Telegram for having weak moderation policies that are supposed to identify and remove illegal material.
26Experts say the lack of enforcement makes it easier for individuals to commit crimes such as money laundering and drug trafficking on the service.
27David Thiel is a researcher at Stanford University in California.
28He has investigated the use of online services to carry out child exploitation.
29Thiel told the AP that compared to other messaging services, Telegram is "less secure (and) more lax" in identifying and removing illegal content.
30In addition, Telegram "appears basically unresponsive to law enforcement," he added.
31As an example, Thiel said that while the messaging service WhatsApp registered 1.3 million reports of possible child exploitation in 2023, Telegram did not send any.
32In a statement to the AP earlier this month, Telegram said it actively works to fight the misuse of its service.
33The company said it uses a combination of monitoring methods and user reports in order to remove banned content.
34"Each day, millions of pieces of harmful content are removed," it added.
35I'm Bryan Lynn.
1The founder and chief executive of the Telegram messaging service, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France over the weekend. 2The reports said police detained Durov Saturday night at Le Bourget airport in Paris. Durov holds citizenship in both France and Russia. He landed in France after a flight from Azerbaijan, French broadcasters LCI and TF1 reported. 3French media reported on Monday that Durov's arrest was linked to a French investigation that found evidence that Telegram had failed to reduce the spread of illegal material on its service. 4French President Emmanuel Macron said the arrest was "in no way a political decision." He said on the social media service X that France "is deeply committed" to freedom of expression. But he added, "Freedoms are upheld with in a legal framework." 5The arrest of the 39-year-old Durov was reportedly sought by a French investigative agency that examines crimes against minors. The French media says officials are investigating crimes including money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses. 6In a statement issued Monday, Telegram said the company obeys all European Union laws, including the Digital Services Act. It added that Telegram's moderation methods operate within industry standards and are always being improved. 7Durov "has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe," the company said. The statement added, "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform." 8Representatives for Durov could not be immediately reached for comment. French law enforcement officials also offered no comment because the investigation is ongoing. 9Durov founded Telegram with his brother in reaction to Russian government efforts to crush large pro-democracy protests that took place in Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012. The demonstrations led the Russian government to introduce new restrictions on internet operations in the country. Durov left Russia in 2014. 10Russia's agency that governs technology companies at one time tried to block Telegram but was unsuccessful in fully restricting the service. In March, the government said it was working with Telegram to remove content that violated Russian laws. 11The messaging service is currently a popular source of news in Ukraine, The Associated Press (AP) reports. Telegram is reportedly used by both government officials and the media to share information on Ukraine's war with Russia. It has also been used to send missile and air raid warnings to citizens during the conflict. 12Western governments have criticized Telegram for having weak moderation policies that are supposed to identify and remove illegal material. Experts say the lack of enforcement makes it easier for individuals to commit crimes such as money laundering and drug trafficking on the service. 13David Thiel is a researcher at Stanford University in California. He has investigated the use of online services to carry out child exploitation. Thiel told the AP that compared to other messaging services, Telegram is "less secure (and) more lax" in identifying and removing illegal content. 14In addition, Telegram "appears basically unresponsive to law enforcement," he added. As an example, Thiel said that while the messaging service WhatsApp registered 1.3 million reports of possible child exploitation in 2023, Telegram did not send any. 15In a statement to the AP earlier this month, Telegram said it actively works to fight the misuse of its service. The company said it uses a combination of monitoring methods and user reports in order to remove banned content. "Each day, millions of pieces of harmful content are removed," it added. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 18__________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20framework -n. the supporting structure of something 21money laundering - n. the crime of moving money that has been obtained illegally through banks and other businesses in order to make it seem like the money operations are legal 22moderate - v. to make sure the rules of an internet discussion are not broken 23absurd - adj. unreasonable or outrageous 24platform - n. a company or service that permits someone to tell a large number of people about ideas or products 25exploit - v. to use someone or something unfairly for your own advantage 26lax - adj. without much care, attention or control 27unresponsive - adj. not reacting in a quick or positive way 28monitor - v. to carefully watch something