A lawyer for Telegram boss Pavel Durov, who is the target of an unprecedented investigation in France, said on Thursday it was “absurd” to suggest the head of a social network was responsible for any criminal acts committed on the platform.
Underlining the uneasy relationship between governments and social media giants, the case against Durov can be seen as a warning shot to tech titans over how to tackle alleged illegality on their apps.
The Kremlin has also weighed in on a case that has further strained Russia’s relations with France, saying the prosecution of the Russian-born tech boss, who is accused of allowing illicit content to run on a platform used by close to 1 billion people, should not turn into “political persecution.”
A French judge put Durov under formal investigation on Wednesday, four days after police arrested him at Paris–Le Bourget Airport near Paris, fueling debate on where freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the law begins.
Lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski, who is representing Durov in France, said it was “absurd to say that a platform or its boss are responsible for any abuse” carried out on the platform, and that Telegram was abiding by European laws.
The French judge said on Wednesday that Durov was suspected of complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse, and drug trafficking.
Durov, 39, is also being investigated for alleged money laundering and refusal to cooperate with judicial authorities. The platform said this week that Durov had “nothing to hide.”
Durov’s arrest is a first for a CEO of a major messaging platform. But, with tensions mounting between governments and social media giants, it is not the first time Telegram has had a run-in with police and judicial authorities.
In 2023, a Brazilian court ordered a temporary suspension of the app until it complies with an order to share information on extremist and neo-Nazi groups using the platform.
Do a “better job”?
One year before that, as a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice ordered a suspension of Telegram, saying it had repeatedly refused to adhere to judicial orders.
Durov blamed any shortcomings on email issues, saying “we definitely could have done a better job,” and voiced confidence that once a reliable communication channel was established, Telegram would be able to “efficiently process takedown requests for public channels that are illegal in Brazil.”
A French police source said this week that Telegram was considered less willing to cooperate with authorities than other social media. But others also face heat from authorities.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday to name a legal representative for his messaging platform X in Brazil within 24 hours or face the site’s suspension in the country.
Musk, billionaire owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, had said after reports of Durov’s detention: “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this week that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration had pressured the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic, apparently referring to White House requests to take down misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines.
The debate over whether, and how, platforms should be held liable for content rages in many countries including the United States, where lawmakers have called for an overhaul of legislation that gives online services immunity from civil liability over content generated by users.
In Britain, a newly introduced Online Safety Act has introduced the threat of criminal sanctions for senior managers who do not comply with media regulator Ofcom’s enforcement notices.
Being placed under formal investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial, but indicates judges consider there is enough evidence to proceed with a probe. Investigations can last years before being sent to trial or shelved.
Durov was granted bail on condition he pays 5 million euros ($5.6 million) and does not leave French territory. He will need to report twice a week to police and be at home at certain specific hours, a judicial source said.
France-Russia tensions
Durov has French, United Arab Emirates, and Russian citizenship. His arrest and the allegations against him have pushed the relationship between France and Russia to a new low, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
Telegram is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine, and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It has become crucial to battlefield communications in the war in Ukraine, and is used by governments and soldiers on both sides to share war-related news and propaganda.
“The main thing is that what is happening in France does not turn into political persecution,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Russia has previously tried, and failed, to block Telegram and fined the company several times for failing to delete what it deemed illegal content.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who wants to position France as a tech hub, has said Durov’s arrest was “in no way a political decision” and that the investigation had been decided by judicial authorities, not by the government.
Durov was granted French citizenship in 2021 under a rare procedure for high-profile individuals.
—Gabriel Stargardter and Dominique Vidalon, Reuters
Additional reporting by Martin Coulter, Sheila Dang, Alexander Cornwell and Gleb Stolyarov, and writing by Ingrid Melander.