A lawyer for embattled Telegram boss Pavel Durov said on 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. He is accused of being involved in drug trafficking, child sexual abuse, fraud and various other wrongdoings on Telegram.
The tech tycoon has an estimated net worth of $9 billion. He was seen exiting a heavily guarded complex wearing an all-black outfit He was released on a $5.6 million bond, according to a video posted on X on Thursday.
David-Olivier Kaminsky, Durov's lawyer in France, said it was “absurd to say that a platform or its owner is responsible for any abuse committed by users”.
Kaminsky said Telegram had complied with European laws.
Durov – who holds citizenship in France, Russia and the United Arab Emirates – was arrested in Paris last Saturday.
He was ordered to remain in France and check in at a local police station twice a week while authorities investigate the allegations against him.
French authorities also accused Durov of not cooperating when law enforcement officials submitted requests for information about possible criminal activity on the app. He is also accused of promoting fraud and money laundering through Telegram.
Prosecutor Laure Becauw cited the “almost complete absence” of responses to legal demands in outlining 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 impact on free expression – billionaire X-Files boss Elon Musk was among those who criticised French authorities for detaining him.
The Kremlin He also weighed in on the case, which has further strained Russia's ties with France, saying the prosecution of Durov, whose messaging app is used by around 1 billion people, should not turn into “political persecution.”
French President Emmanuel Macron has said the charges against Durov are “in no way political” and that the country is “deeply committed” to freedom of expression.
Durov's arrest is the first for a CEO of a major messaging platform. But, with tensions growing between governments and social media giants, this is not the first time Telegram has clashed with police and judicial authorities.
Read the latest update on the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov:
In 2023, a Brazilian court ordered the app to be temporarily suspended until it complied with an order to share information about extremist and neo-Nazi groups using the platform.
Do a 'better job'?
A year ago, when a Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered Telegram suspended, saying it had repeatedly refused to comply with judicial orders, Durov blamed his company’s shortcomings on the email issues, saying “we definitely could have done a better job.”
“I am confident that once a reliable channel of communication is established, we will be able to efficiently process takedown requests for illegal public channels in Brazil,” he wrote.
A French police source said this week that Telegram is considered less willing to cooperate with authorities than other social media. But others also face criticism from authorities.
Brazil's Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday ordered billionaire Elon Musk to name a legal representative for his messaging platform X in Brazil within 24 hours, or face suspension of the site in the country.
The billionaire owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, said following reports of Durov’s detention: “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being killed for liking a meme.”
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said this week that the Harris-Biden administration put pressure on the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic, apparently referring to White House requests to reportedly remove 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 during the war in Ukraine and is used by governments and troops 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 French president has denied that (the case) has any connection to politics, but on the other hand, some allegations are being made. We will see what happens next.”
Russia has previously tried to block Telegram but was unsuccessful, and has fined the company several times for failing to remove illegal content.
Macron has long wanted to position France as a country, Tech HubA source close to the president said he had lunch with Durov in 2018 as part of a series of meetings with tech entrepreneurs, and Durov was granted French citizenship in 2021 under a rare procedure for high-profile individuals.
post with wires
