French President Emmanuel Macron says the arrest in France of the CEO of the favored messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn’t a political transfer however a part of an impartial investigation
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the favored messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn’t a political transfer however a part of an impartial investigation.
French media reported that Durov was detained at a Paris airport on Saturday on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for cash laundering, drug trafficking and different offenses.
In France’s first public touch upon the arrest, Macron posted on the social media platform X that his nation “is deeply dedicated” to freedom of expression however “freedoms are upheld inside a authorized framework, each on social media and in actual life, to guard residents and respect their elementary rights.”
Denouncing what he referred to as false data circulating in regards to the arrest, he mentioned it “is on no account a political determination. It’s as much as the judges to rule on the matter.”
Russian authorities officers have expressed outrage at Durov’s arrest, with some calling it politically pushed and saying it confirmed the West’s double customary on freedom of speech.
Representatives for Durov, a twin citizen of France and Russia, couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
In an announcement posted on its platform, Telegram mentioned it abides by EU legal guidelines together with the digital companies act, and its moderation is “inside business requirements and consistently bettering.”
“It’s absurd to assert {that a} platform or its proprietor are liable for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s submit mentioned. “Virtually a billion customers globally use Telegram as technique of communication and as a supply of significant data. We’re awaiting a immediate decision of this case. Telegram is with you all.”
Telegram was based by Durov and his brother within the wake of the Russian authorities’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow on the finish of 2011 and 2012.