Telegram founder's arrest part of larger investigation into alleged child exploitation and drug trafficking 'complicity' (2024)

French authorities have arrested Telegram founder Pavel Durov as part of a larger investigation related to charges of "complicity" in illegal transactions and possessing and distributing p*rnographic images of minors, the Paris prosecutor's office said Monday.

That investigation began on July 8, focusing on a person who is still unnamed, the office said in a press release. It remains unclear if Durov will be charged. Police have the authority to hold him until Wednesday.

Durov, a wealthy tech mogul, founded and is the sole owner of Telegram, which functions as both a messaging and news app.

One of only a few popular apps without strong ties to either the United States or China, Telegram has long positioned itself as being extremely reluctant to moderate most content, including many scams and certain types of criminal behavior, and it is known for offering little cooperation with government requests.

In broadcast channels, Telegram says that it will enforce rules against illegal content, but on its website, Telegram says it does not apply monitoring to any type of messaging between users.

Telegram has said the company has moderated child abuse content since the app was created, and routinely closes channels devoted to child sexual abuse material.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which works with tech platforms to remove explicit images of child abuse, told NBC News that Telegram has refused its outreach.

“NCMEC has tried to get them to report, but they have no interest and are known for not wanting to work with law enforcement agencies or anyone in this space,” a spokesperson said.

Other charges related to the investigation seem to reflect other common complaints about Telegram and its lack of moderation, the prosecutors office said. Those include complicity in organized fraud, complicity in trading narcotic substances, and “providing cryptology services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration.”

Telegram does offer its users the option to encrypt some of its chats, though many cryptographers are skeptical of its quality.

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed Monday that Durov had been arrested.

In a post on X, Macron called the arrest apolitical and said it was part of an ongoing judicial investigation.

“The arrest of the head of Telegram on French territory took place in the context of a judicial inquiry in process. It was not in any way a political decision,” Macron said.

Jean-Michel Bernigaud, who heads OFMIN, a French agency devoted to combating crimes against children, wrote on LinkedIn that Durov was arrested Saturday and that the heart of the case against him rested on the platform’s lack of moderation and cooperation in fighting pedophilia.

Many details surrounding Durov’s arrest are still unclear. But it has prompted outrage from a large swath of influential figures, including tech titan Elon Musk, whistleblower Edward Snowden, right-wing influencers, as well as Russian media, where Telegram is extremely popular.

Critics have suggested that the arrest by French authorities was conducted in an effort to control or access communications on the platform.

“The arrest of @Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association,” Snowden wrote in a post on X. “I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications. It lowers not only France, but the world.”

Macron’s statement seemed to address some of that outrage, in particular claims that Durov had been arrested for his support of free speech.

“I am reading here [on X] some false remarks regarding France in the wake of the arrest of Pavel Durov. France is above all a proponent of free expression and communication, innovation, and the spirit of enterprise,” he said.

Telegram didn’t respond to a request for comment but wrote in a statement on X that it abides by European Union laws. The company said that Durov has “nothing to hide” and that it is "absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

Durov became rich from founding the Russian counterpart to Facebook, VK, at 21. He has long maintained that in response to Kremlin pressure to give up information on users, he sold the company, fled Russia for the United Arab Emirates and founded Telegram as a free speech platform that goes above and beyond to avoid government censorship and meddling.

While Durov has claimed that Telegram routinely takes down images and calls for violence, it remains one of the most unmoderated apps on the internet, and is a popular place for extremists, terrorists and scammers.

Many major U.S. tech platforms, such as Meta and Google, routinely comply with court orders from around the world requesting user data of people suspected of crimes.

In a rare interview in April with the right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson, Durov cast Telegram in contrast to that approach, and said that he generally ignores government requests.