{"id":7183,"date":"2024-08-26T15:10:24","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T15:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/26\/pavel-durov-has-nothing-to-hide-telegram-says-after-founders-arrest-in-france\/"},"modified":"2024-08-26T15:10:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T15:10:24","slug":"pavel-durov-has-nothing-to-hide-telegram-says-after-founders-arrest-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailywashingtoninsider.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/26\/pavel-durov-has-nothing-to-hide-telegram-says-after-founders-arrest-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"Pavel Durov has \u2018nothing to hide\u2019, Telegram says, after founder\u2019s arrest in France"},"content":{"rendered":"

Telegram says its chief executive Pavel Durov has “nothing to hide” after he was arrested in France, adding the charges against him are “absurd”.<\/p>\n

The billionaire founder of the encrypted messaging app was detained after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport<\/strong> on the outskirts of Paris on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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News broadcasters BFMTV and TF1 have quoted unnamed sources as saying the Russian-born entrepreneur – who became a French citizen in 2021 – was the subject of a search warrant.<\/p>\n

Both outlets suggest the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram<\/strong> and potential criminal activity by users.<\/p>\n

They said the warrant alleges his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offences, though French authorities are yet to comment.<\/p>\n

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In a statement on Sunday, Telegram said: “Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving.<\/p>\n

“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.<\/p>\n

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.”<\/p>\n

Telegram is one of the most downloaded apps in the world, with close to one billion users<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It offers end-to-end encryption – effectively protecting data from being intercepted – and has a strong focus on privacy.<\/p>\n

But these features have made it a popular place for criminal activity and it was recently exploited by far-right activists who sparked riots<\/strong> in the UK over the Southport stabbings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mr Durov, 39, left Russia in 2014 after losing control of his previous social media company Vkontakte (VK).<\/p>\n

He refused to comply with government demands to shut down opposition groups on the platform and would not hand over data on Ukrainian protesters to security agencies.<\/p>\n

He moved to Dubai in 2017 and became a French citizen in August 2021.<\/p>\n

The Russian embassy in France has called for consular access to Mr Durov and demanded his rights be ensured, according to Russian state news agency TASS.<\/p>\n

France has so far “avoided engagement” on the situation with Durov and Russian diplomats are in contact with his lawyer, the embassy said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on sky.com<\/div>\n

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