The co-founder of messaging app Telegram was arrested in Paris last month as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions linked to the app.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov has spoken out publicly for the first time since his arrest in Paris last month, criticising the French authorities’ investigation and promising stepped-up efforts to fight criminality on the messaging app.
In a Telegram post on Friday, Durov defended himself against the French judicial investigation, in which he has been handed preliminary charges for allegedly allowing the platform’s use for criminal activity, suggesting that he personally shouldn’t have been targeted.
“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,” the post said.
“Building technology is hard enough as it is. No innovator will ever build new tools if they know they can be personally held responsible for potential abuse of those tools,” he added.
While insisting that Telegram is not “some sort of anarchic paradise,” Durov said surging numbers of Telegram users “caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform.”
“That’s why I made it my personal goal to ensure we significantly improve things in this regard. We’ve already started that process internally, and I will share more details on our progress with you very soon,” he said.
Authorities arrested Durov, a Russian multi-billionaire who holds other nationalities including French, in Paris in late August as part of an investigation into child sexual abuse images, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions linked to Telegram.
He has since been charged for allegedly allowing criminal activity on the app but has avoided jail time on the condition that he pay €5 million, report to police twice a week and remain in France.
Durov’s arrest has thrust the regulation of social media into the spotlight, at a time when Elon Musk, owner of X, has been launching a tirade against what he perceives as a crackdown on free speech on his platform.
The arrest also sparked protests and debates on the nature of free speech across the globe.
