Telegram lawyer calls investigations against CEO Durov “absurd”

A lawyer for Telegram boss Pavel Durov, who is currently the subject of an unprecedented investigation in France, said on Thursday that it was “absurd” to claim that the head of a social network was responsible for crimes committed on the platform.

The case against Durov underscores the difficult relationship between governments and social media giants and can be seen as a warning shot to tech titans seeking to take action against the alleged illegality of their apps.

The Kremlin has also intervened in a case that has further strained relations between Russia and France, saying the prosecution of the Russian-born tech chief should not become a “political persecution.” He is accused of allowing the spread of illegal content on a platform used by nearly a billion people.

Telegram CEO arrested for alleged inability to prevent crime on the app

A French judge opened an official investigation into Durov on Wednesday, four days after police arrested him at Le Bourget airport outside Paris, sparking a debate about where freedom of expression ends and enforcement of the law begins.

Lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski, who represents Durov in France, said it was “absurd to say that a platform or its boss is responsible for any abuse” that takes place on the platform and that Telegram complies with European laws.

The French judge said on Wednesday that Durov was suspected of complicity in operating an online platform that facilitated illegal transactions as well as images of child sexual abuse and drug trafficking.

Durov, 39, is also under investigation for alleged money laundering and refusal to cooperate with judicial authorities. The platform said this week that Durov has “nothing to hide.”

Durov’s arrest is a first for the CEO of a major messaging platform, but with tensions rising between governments and social media giants, it is not the first time Telegram has clashed with police and judicial authorities.

In 2023, a Brazilian court ordered a temporary suspension of the app until it complies with an order to share information about extremist and neo-Nazi groups using the platform.

Do a “better job”?

A year earlier, a judge in Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Telegram to be blocked, arguing that the company had repeatedly refused to comply with court orders.

Durov attributed any shortcomings to email issues, saying, “We definitely could have done better.” He expressed confidence that once a reliable communication channel is established, Telegram will be able to “efficiently process requests to delete public channels that are illegal in Brazil.”

A French police source said this week that Telegram is seen as less cooperative with authorities than other social media. But others are also coming under pressure from the authorities.

Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday ordered billionaire Elon Musk to appoint a legal representative for his messaging platform X in Brazil within 24 hours or face the site being blocked in the country.

Musk, the billionaire owner of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, had said after reports of Durov’s imprisonment: “In Europe, it will be 2030 and you will be executed for liking a meme.”

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this week that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration pressured the company to “censor” COVID-19 content during the pandemic, apparently referring to the White House’s request to remove misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines.

There is heated debate in many countries about whether and in what form platforms should be held liable for their content. The issue is also hotly debated in the US, where politicians have called for a revision of legislation that grants online services immunity from civil liability for content created by users.

In the UK, a recently introduced online safety law provides for the threat of criminal sanctions for senior managers who fail to comply with enforcement orders issued by the media regulator Ofcom.

In France, the opening of a formal investigation does not automatically mean guilt, nor does it necessarily lead to a trial. However, it does indicate that judges believe there is enough evidence to open an investigation. Investigations can take years before they are brought to court or closed.

Durov was released on bail on condition that he pay 5 million euros ($5.6 million) and not leave French territory. He must report to police twice a week and be at home at certain times, a judicial source said.

Tensions between France and Russia

Durov has French, UAE and Russian citizenship. His arrest and the allegations against him have brought relations between France and Russia to a new low, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.

Telegram is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. In the war in Ukraine, it has become crucial for battlefield communications and is used by governments and soldiers on both sides to spread war-related news and propaganda.

“The main thing is that what is happening in France does not become political persecution,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

Russia had previously tried unsuccessfully to block Telegram and had repeatedly fined the company for failing to delete content deemed illegal.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who wants to position France as a technology hub, said Durov’s arrest was “in no way a political decision” and that the investigation was ordered by the judicial authorities, not the government.

Durov was granted French citizenship in 2021 in a rare procedure for high-ranking figures.

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(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Dominique Vidalon; additional reporting by Martin Coulter, Sheila Dang, Alexander Cornwell and Gleb Stolyarov; writing by Ingrid Melander; editing by Helen Popper, William Maclean and Timothy Heritage)

Photo: Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov at an event on August 1, 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)