TECH NEWS – The man was handcuffed because there is no moderation on the platform, which also encourages organized crime (as offensive and dangerous content is not deleted).

Pavel Durov was on his way to Paris in his private plane, but as soon as he landed he was detained by French authorities. Durov is the founding CEO of Telegram and was arrested because he is being investigated for lack of moderation on the platform. This allows users, including criminals, to use it with complete anonymity and remain untouched. This arrest was first reported by TF1 and later by Reuters.

A source had critical information about Durov’s arrest and believes that the lack of cooperation with Telegram has led to countless crimes on the platform and that the CEO does nothing to moderate or even cooperate. The platform is used by around 1 billion people and is particularly popular in Eastern Europe, with both Ukraine and Russia using Telegram (the latter as a way for citizens to keep up with developments in the Russian-Ukrainian war).

Ars Technica reported what Rob Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute said: he believes Telegram is also used by the Russian military to communicate, so they can plan their next move in the dark and the other side cannot discover their plans. Durov, by the way, had just left Russia to work on Telegram after being fired from his previous job at VKontakte, Russia’s Facebook.

Telegram has officially responded to Durov’s arrest: “Telegram complies with EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and is constantly improving. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and frequently travels to Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform. Nearly a billion users around the world use Telegram as a means of communication and a source of vital information. We’re waiting for a quick solution to this situation. Telegram is with all of you.

The situation is absurd and there could be twists and turns…

Source: WCCFTech, TF1, Ars Technica, Telegram