It's been a year since the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, but the case with the French authorities remains unresolved. In a post on his Telegram and X accounts, Durov said that investigators are still trying to establish a fault on his part or his company, but no evidence has been found. He expressed his frustration in the face of the length of the process.
In short
- A year after his arrest, Pavel Durov claims that the French authorities have found no proof of lack.
- He must still present himself in France every 14 days, no call date having been set.
- Durov denied having provided the authorities with secret access to private messages on Telegram.
Durov rejects the responsibility for the actions of Telegram users
Durov was detained by French police for four days at the time of his arrest last year. On August 24, he said that this detention was unfair because it was linked to crimes committed by individuals who used Telegram, although he had no connection with them.
He considers that it is unreasonable to hold a platform manager responsible for the acts of its users, noting that such a responsibility has neither legal nor logic foundation.
According to him, for the moment, the only result of his arrest was A serious damage like France As a free country.
A year after this strange arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days, without a date of call in sight. Unfortunately, the only result of my arrest so far has been massive damage like France as a free country.
Pavel Durov
How Telegram manages the prejudicial content
The French survey focused on Telegram content moderation practices. The authorities indicted Durov and, at the start of the investigation, prevented him from leaving France while they were examining how the platform managed the prejudicial content. The police accused Telegram of hosting harmful content without taking sufficient measures.
Durov responded last year by insisting that the company actually deletes this type of content. In a defense declaration published in September 2024, he detailed Telegram's actions, adding that Millions of publications and harmful channels are deleted every day.
He explained that the platform also publishes daily transparency reports to show what has been removed. To strengthen moderation, he said that Telegram maintains direct lines with non -governmental organizations, thus making it possible to quickly process urgent requests.
In its latest update on the case, Durov stressed that Telegram complied with all the legally binding requests in France. He said that the company's moderation practices comply with sector standards.
Official reaction and defense of the platform
French President Emmanuel Macron commented the case shortly after the arrest of Durov. Macron said that the arrest was not political. He described it as a question of law and public security. His remarks, however, aroused criticism, some accusing France of censorship and undergoing digital freedoms.
In the meantime, Durov accused the French authorities of having misunderstood the case. According to him, before August 2024, they ignored the French and European procedures to contact Telegram and had not made their requests correctly. He added that they could have inquired about the appropriate procedure by a simple online research or by asking the question.
The post also prompted a user to suggest that Telegram had given French authorities secret access to his systems. Durov firmly denied this assertion, explaining that there is no stolen door in Telegram and that no third party can access private messages on the platform. He stressed that such access would never be authorized.
Earlier, in June, Durov expressed his frustration in the face of arrest, saying that he was still looking for answers and that it seemed that French investigators were mainly centered on the basic functioning of his platform rather than on any fault.
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