Telegram's Pavel Durov Arrested in France
canopic jug writes:
Pavel Durov, head of the Dubai-based proprietary "app" Telegram, had been wanted by the French authorities for his lack of cooperation in monitoring and filtering the activities of the users of his "app". This is in spite of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling that any weakening of end-to-end encryption disproportionately risks undermining human rights. Multiple sites are now reporting that he has been arrested on a warrant in France during a flight layover in his private jet:
The Korea Times, Telegram chief Pavel Durov arrested at French airport: officials:
France's OFMIN, an agency tasked with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov as the coordinating agency in a preliminary investigation into alleged offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promotion of terrorism, one of the sources close to the case said.
Durov is suspected of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform.
Voice of America, CEO of Telegram messaging app arrested in France, say French media:
Based in Dubai, Telegram was founded by Russian-born Durov. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold.
Durov was traveling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.
The Guardian, Telegram app founder Pavel Durov reportedly arrested at French airport:
The Russia-born entrepreneur lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates.
Durov, who is estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of $15.5bn (12bn), left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold.
Reuters, Telegram messaging app CEO Durov arrested in France:
The encrypted Telegram, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.
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