What criminal allegations are there against the messaging app?

Telegram is an app that allows one-on-one conversations, group chats, and large “channels” through which users can send messages to subscribers.

Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, was released on bail of five million euros after his arrest by French police. The founder of the encrypted messaging service must now report to the police twice a week, according to the conditions imposed by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau. Durov is being investigated on six charges, including allegations related to cyberbullying, pedophile sharing of content and glorification of terrorism. He is not allowed to leave France while the investigation is ongoing. The arrest took place on Saturday evening at an airport outside Paris. Beccuau announced that Durov is accused of a total of 12 criminal offenses.

He added that the arrest was made “in the context of a judicial investigation opened on July 8, 2024.” It also concerned “the refusal to provide, at the request of the competent authorities, information or documents necessary for the conduct and implementation of wiretapping operations permitted by law,” said the Paris prosecutor.

In response to the arrest, the Telegram group stated on its X account that the company “complies with European Union (EU) laws, including the Digital Services Act.” “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the misuse of that platform,” it continued.

What is Telegram?

Telegram is an app that allows one-on-one conversations, group chats, and large “channels” through which users can send messages to subscribers. Unlike rivals like Meta’s WhatsApp, Telegram’s group chats can have up to 200,000 people logging in, while WhatsApp’s maximum is 1,024. Experts have raised concerns that misinformation spreads easily in group chats of this size.

Telegram offers its users end-to-end encryption for their communications, but contrary to a common misconception, this feature is not enabled by default. Users must turn the option on. It also does not work for group chats. This is in contrast to its competitors Signal and Facebook Messenger, where chats are end-to-end encrypted by default.

Why was Durov arrested?

On Wednesday, the French authorities handed over provisional fees Durov was charged with allowing alleged criminal activity on Telegram and was banned from leaving France pending further investigations. Allegations against Durov include that his platform is used for material about child sexual abuse and drug trafficking, and that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators despite being required to do so by law.

The first preliminary charge against him was “complicity in the management of an online platform to facilitate illegal transactions by an organized group,” a crime punishable by up to ten years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros, prosecutors said.

Under French law, when a preliminary indictment is made, judges have good reason to believe that a crime has been committed, but give the accused more time for further investigation.

The platform’s low-key approach to content moderation has reportedly led to a rise in its popularity over the years. While Telegram proactively removes violent content and content related to child sexual abuse, the platform has increasingly become a tool for drug traffickers, far-right groups and terrorist organizations that share harmful content.

Law enforcement agencies have also expressed frustration over Telegram’s alleged lack of cooperation in removing harmful content and tracking down account owners. Child protection organizations in the US, UK and Canada accused Telegram of ignoring their calls to take action against child sexual abuse material on the platform, according to a report by NBC.