Telegram Founder Patel Durov Charged Over Alleged Criminal Activity on the App

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is forbidden from leaving French territory aft being charged for complicity successful moving an online level that allegedly enabled the dispersed of intersexual images of children, creating an uncertain aboriginal for the messaging app that has go 1 of the world’s biggest societal media platforms.

Durov was arrested connected Saturday astatine 8 p.m. section clip aft his backstage pitchy landed astatine an airdrome adjacent Paris. He was past detained for astir 96 hours—the maximum a idiosyncratic tin beryllium held without being charged nether French law—as part of an investigation into alleged transgression enactment taking spot connected Telegram. On Wednesday evening, section time, helium was indicted and forbidden from leaving the country, according to a connection released by the Paris Prosecutor. He was released nether judicial supervision, the spokesperson said, without explaining what that involved.

The Telegram laminitis had was placed nether ceremonial probe for a scope of charges related to kid intersexual maltreatment material, cause trafficking, online hatred crimes arsenic good arsenic a “neat-total absence” of practice with French authorities, Laure Beccuau, the Paris Prosecutor, said connected Wednesday.

“It is absurd to assertion that a level oregon its proprietor is liable for the maltreatment of that platform,” Telegram said connected Sunday, earlier Durov was charged. The platform, which has 900 cardinal progressive users, did not instantly respond to a petition for remark to the charges.

Since his arrest, some the UAE and Russia person requested consular entree to Durov, who has citizenship successful some countries. It’s unclear wherefore Durov, who besides obtained a French passport aft leaving Russia, was successful France. “I don’t instrumentality holidays,” helium said connected his Telegram transmission successful June.

Russia has claimed, without evidence, that Durov’s apprehension is an effort by the United States to exert power implicit the level via France. "Telegram is 1 of the fewer and astatine the aforesaid clip the largest Internet platforms implicit which the United States has nary influence," Vyacheslav Volodin, the president of Russia's State Duma, the little location of parliament, said connected the app.

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said connected Monday that Durov’s detention is “in nary mode a governmental decision.” “It is up to the judiciary, successful afloat independence, to enforce the law,” helium added in a station connected X. The European Commission tells WIRED the apprehension was conducted nether French transgression instrumentality and is not connected to new European regulation for tech platforms. “We are intimately monitoring the developments related to Telegram and basal acceptable to cooperate with the French authorities should it beryllium relevant,” a spokesperson says, declining to beryllium named.

Once known arsenic Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg, Durov has said helium got the thought for Telegram erstwhile helium was inactive CEO of Vkontakte, the Russian societal media institution helium founded successful 2006. Under his leadership, the level was dogged by allegations it was sharing information with the Kremlin, adjacent arsenic Durov appeared to publically clash with Russian authorities implicit the governmental contented VK was hosting. He told The New York Times that erstwhile a SWAT squad appeared astatine his St Petersburg location successful 2011, helium realized helium wanted to interaction his member but had nary unafraid mode of doing so. “That’s however Telegram started,” helium said.