Telegram founder makes first statement after arrest: 'France was misled'

12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS

Russian-born billionaire and Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who was detained in France last month, released a statement on his Telegram channel rejecting claims that the app is an 'anarchic paradise.' In his statement on Friday, Durov argued that French authorities arrested him as a result of being misled.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who is under investigation in France, described the arrest as 'misguided,' stating that French authorities should have directed their complaints to his company instead of detaining him.

The Russian-born multimillionaire said the investigation into the app was surprising, as French authorities had access to a 'hotline' he helped establish and could reach Telegram's EU representative whenever they wanted.

Durov wrote, 'If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start legal action against the service itself.'

Durov continued his statement with the following words:

'Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach.'

Stating that Telegram is not perfect, Durov noted, '...but claims in some media that Telegram is some kind of anarchic paradise are absolutely untrue. We remove millions of harmful posts and channels every day.'

Durov, who is now a French citizen, was detained in France late last month as part of an investigation into crimes related to child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, and fraud linked to the app.

Pavel Durov was charged by the French judiciary with allegedly allowing criminal activity on the messaging app, but he avoided being held in prison pending trial by posting 5 million euros in bail. Durov was released on the condition that he report to a police station twice a week and remain in France.

The charges against Durov include complicity in the distribution of child sexual abuse material and various legal violations.

The unexpected arrest of its founder has raised questions about the criminal liability of Telegram, the popular app with nearly 1 billion users, and has fueled debates over freedom of expression and government censorship.

News Source: 12punto