# Telegram says arrested CEO Pavel Durov has 'nothing to hide' Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8ne8r1yy0o ## Summary Telegram says its CEO Pavel Durov, detained in France on Saturday, has "nothing to hide," and calls it "absurd" to hold a platform or its owner responsible for abuse of that platform. According to officials, Durov was arrested at an airport north of Paris under a warrant for offences related to the app, with the investigation reportedly focused on insufficient moderation. Judicial sources quoted by AFP say his detention was extended on Sunday and could last up to 96 hours. Russia's foreign ministry said its embassy in France had taken steps to clarify the situation, though the Kremlin said on Monday it was waiting to learn the official accusations. ## Article Messaging app Telegram has said its CEO Pavel Durov, who was detained in France on Saturday, has "nothing to hide". Mr Durov was arrested at an airport north of Paris under a warrant for offences related to the app, according to officials. The investigation is reportedly about insufficient moderation, with Mr Durov accused of failing to take steps to curb criminal uses of Telegram. The app is accused of failure to co-operate with law enforcement over drug trafficking, child sexual content and fraud. Telegram said in a statement that "its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving". "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform," the app said. Telegram said Mr Durov travels in Europe frequently and added that it abides by European Union laws, including the Digital Services Act, , externalwhich aims to ensure a safe and accountable online environment. "Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information," the app's statement read. "We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all." Judicial sources quoted by AFP news agency say Mr Durov's detention was extended on Sunday and could last as long as 96 hours. Pavel Durov, 39, was born in Russia and now lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based. He holds citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France. Telegram is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and former Soviet Union states. The app was banned in Russia in 2018, after a previous refusal by him to hand over user data. The ban was reversed in 2021. Telegram is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat. Mr Durov founded Telegram in 2013. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VKontakte social media platform, which he sold. Russia still regards Mr Durov as a Russian citizen. Its foreign ministry said the Russian embassy to France had "immediately taken the steps required in such cases to clarify the situation around the Russian citizen, despite not having received a request from the businessman's representatives". Then embassy itself said it was seeking to "clarify the reasons for the detention and to provide for the protection of Mr Durov’s rights and facilitate consular access". It added that the French authorities had not been co-operating with Russian officials. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram asking whether Western human rights NGOs would be silent on Mr Durov's arrest, after they criticised Russia’s decision to “create obstacles” to the work of Telegram in Russia in 2018. On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was right to wait and see what the official accusations against Mr Durov were - if any - before commenting further, as Russia remains unsure what he was arrested for. Telegram allows groups of up to 200,000 members, which critics have argued makes it easier for misinformation to spread, and for users to share conspiracist, neo-Nazi, paedophilic, or terror-related content. In the UK, the app was scrutinised for hosting far-right channels that were instrumental in organising the violent disorder in English cities earlier this month. Telegram did remove some groups, but overall its system of moderating extremist and illegal content is significantly weaker than that of other social media companies and messenger apps, say cybersecurity experts. ## Comments **mishaderidder.eth**: “Telegram said Mr Durov travels in Europe frequently and added that it abides by European Union laws, including the Digital Services Act” Obviously governments would like to read encrypted messages. For example the EU Council is voting on a proposal known as "Chat Control 2.0" that would mandate scanning of messages on encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal. My guess is France is flexing their muscles and going after Telegram because in public opinion there is already a negative image of the platform. A lot of people, especially in the West, when they hear Telegram immediately think Russia and criminals. There is a lot of dark mythology surrounding the platform. Still at the moment Telegram has 900 million monthly active users globally who rely on it for their communication. All the “bad stuff” can easily also occur on WhatsApp which encryption is generally considered stronger and more comprehensive than Telegram's. But WhatsApp is associated with sending holiday pics to your grandparents. I guess Meta is just better building their brand! So I think France is testing the waters. They expect less protest arresting Mr Durov because of the negative connotations around Telegram. When a case against Telegram succeeds they can go after Signal and WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption more easily. Of course I also don’t really know, and maybe something really bad is going on with Mr Durov. Probably soon we will learn more. **timdaub.eth**: > But WhatsApp is associated with sending holiday pics to your grandparents. hahah that had me burst out in laughter. Btw., I think the TG client is open source [1] and Whatsapp isn't... - 1: https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdesktop