Arrest of Telegram founder reveals the real totalitarians are Western countries, not Russia

09/01/2024 / By Belle Carter

French President Emmanuel Macron is facing massive backlash on totalitarianism and suppression of free speech, especially from the tech industry, after French authorities arrested Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov over the weekend over allegations that his platform is being used for illicit activity including drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.

Several prominent tech entrepreneurs and public figures, including X’s CEO Elon Musk, have criticized the move as selective persecution against a known advocate of free speech.

“The arrest of Telegram’s president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.” Macron claimed, condemning what he called “false information” surrounding the case.

Durov, a Russian-born French-Emirati citizen, was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport in France on Saturday after arriving from Azerbaijan. He was released from police custody on Wednesday and transferred to court for questioning ahead of a possible indictment, prosecutors told CNN. The billionaire exited the anti-fraud office outside Paris in what appeared to be a police vehicle on Wednesday afternoon.

In a statement, Telegram said it abides by EU laws and its content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.” The company added that Durov “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform,” a separate post from the platform said. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”

The judicial investigation was opened against a person unnamed, on charges of: “Complicity – web-mastering an online platform to enable an illegal transaction in an organized group, possessing pornographic images of minors, acquiring, transporting, possessing, offering or selling narcotic substances, offering, selling or making available, without legitimate reason, equipment, tools, programs or data designed for or adapted to get access to and to damage the operation of an automated data processing system; and criminal association to commit a crime or an offense punishable by five or more years of imprisonment,” among others.

On X, Macron expressed France’s deep commitment to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and the spirit of entrepreneurship. “In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights,” he added.

I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov.

France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so.

In a state governed by the rule of law,…

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 26, 2024

Trending Politics owner Collin Rugg retweeted Macron’s post, commenting that people no longer believe the French leader’s lies. (Related: Macron dissolves French parliament after Le Pen THRASHES his party at National Rally for European elections.)

“France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship.”

No one believes this.

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 26, 2024

Russia also criticized Paris for its detention of Durov. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, “It seems to me that all this has once again demonstrated the true attitude of the French leadership, which has blatantly trampled on international norms in the field of ??protecting freedom of speech and expression, for only one reason – because if they protect certain standards, they must not only comply with them, they must protect and implement them.”

Telegram was launched in 2013 by Durov and his brother, Nikolai. Now, it has more than 950 million users, making it one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the world. Conversations on the app are encrypted, meaning that law enforcement agencies and Telegram itself have little oversight over what users post.

Russia challenges France with strong evidence against Durov

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary warned Macron that he better have a good case against Durov.

“The accusations are very serious indeed and they require an equally serious basis of evidence,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at his press briefing according to news agency Interfax. “Otherwise, this is a direct attempt to restrict freedom of communication and, one could even say, to directly intimidate the head of a large company.”

“In other words, it would be exactly the politics that Mr. Macron denied yesterday in this story,” he added.

Peskov added that Russia hopes “Durov will have all the necessary opportunities for his legal defense. Of course, given his Russian citizenship, we are ready to provide all the necessary assistance and support. But the situation is complicated by the fact that he is also a French citizen.”

He also denied reports that the Kremlin ordered officials to delete their Telegram chat history after Durov’s arrest and said they’re not meant to use messenger apps for official business in the first place.

“Purging communications is utter stupidity. Officials should not use messengers for official purposes. No messenger is reliable in terms of information security — not even Telegram. […] Therefore, of course, no one is asking anyone to clean anything,” Peskov said.

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