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On August 24th, French authorities arrested CEO Pavel Durov and accused him of failing to take measures to prevent Telegram from being used in crimes, including spreading child sexual abuse materials. Subsequently, Telegram issued a statement saying that it abides by European laws.

This is not the first time that Telegram has been accused by governments around the world, but this time the degree of supervision is far greater than before. So, why does Telegram worry governments so much? This article will bring you an interpretation of the reasons behind the arrest of Telegram CEO.

The whole story of the arrest of Telegram CEO

On August 24th, 2024, French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram. This arrest has aroused widespread international concern, especially in Russia and its surrounding areas.

Durov, who holds dual French and Russian citizenship, was reportedly detained after his arrival from Azerbaijan. According to the statement of the Paris prosecutor, Durov faces 12 serious charges, which involve various criminal activities, including crimes related to the distribution of child pornography, drug crimes, organized fraud and money laundering. These allegations not only make the case more complicated, but also show the rigor of transnational law enforcement cooperation. In particular, the French Cyber Crime Center (C3N) and the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF) are jointly investigating this case, which indicates that Durov may have participated in or assisted these illegal activities through the Telegram platform.

In addition, Durov’s arrest triggered a wide-ranging discussion on freedom of speech and privacy protection. Many commentators believe that this arrest is not only a legal action against individuals, but also a blow to Telegram as a platform and its support for free information flow.

The arrest caused widespread controversy, and many celebrities expressed concern about its impact on freedom of speech and privacy. For example, elon musk and Vitalik Butlin both expressed their support for Durov, stressing that this may pose a threat to the freedom of communication platforms.

At the same time, this incident is interpreted by some people as the further strengthening of information control in western countries, and it may become a powerful criticism tool of the Russian government on the “freedom of speech” in the west.

At present, Durov’s legal team is actively responding to these allegations, and the progress of the case will continue to be closely watched around the world.

On “Freedom” Brought by Telegram

Telegram is a text-based chat service, which looks and feels a bit like WhatsApp, but has additional functions similar to X or Facebook. Telegram chat is a simple daily communication tool, which is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world and is one of the most downloaded apps in the world.

In Telegram, users can post stories, create discussion groups or set up so-called private channels. A channel can eventually attract millions of subscribers and become an influential destination for news and information.

New users must agree not to send spam or cheat users, promote violence or publish illegal pornographic content. But in fact, compared with large social media networks in the United States, its content is less censored. Its moderators usually delete content that explicitly calls for violence.

Back to the topic, the setting of private chat makes Telegram a free space for public discussion in authoritarian countries, which makes Telegram the main target of the government in supervising criminal activities or defrauding users, promoting violence or publishing illegal pornographic content.

Telegram only provides end-to-end encryption to users who initiate “secret chat”, which makes it impossible for Telegram and any potential snoopers to read messages. In addition, its relatively loose content review method makes the regulatory benefits of governments very small, which makes Telegram a thorn in the side of governments.

Of course, there is another reason. Telegram users can cross-post their content from one channel to other channels, thus forming a huge fission interactive network, which allows extreme speech to rapidly fission and expand.

In short, there are many complicated reasons behind Pavel Durov’s arrest, involving many factors such as politics, economy and network security. We summarize the following points:

Political background and information control: The French arrest of Durov may not only be a legal action, but also contain deeper political motives. As the founder of Telegram, Durov has always advocated free speech and information privacy, which makes Telegram a thorn in the side of many governments, especially in the geopolitical tension between western countries and Russia. The arrest may be an attempt by western countries to weaken Durov’s support for the free flow of information, especially in the context of increasingly serious global information control and censorship.

Anonymity and illegal activities of Telegram: Telegram is famous for its high anonymity and encryption function, which makes it one of the first choice platforms for users to protect their privacy. However, this anonymity also attracts criminals to use the platform for illegal activities, such as drug dealing, fraud, and dissemination of illegal content. The arrest of Durov by the French authorities is probably aimed at cracking down on this situation, trying to force Telegram to strengthen the supervision of illegal activities through legal means, and may even require it to provide user data.

International pressure and transnational law enforcement cooperation: In recent years, many countries have exerted varying degrees of pressure on Telegram to abide by their own laws and regulations, especially in dealing with illegal content. This arrest may also reflect the transnational law enforcement cooperation between France and other countries, especially the EU countries. On a global scale, Telegram faces pressure not only from western countries, but also from Russian countries, which makes Durov fall into the whirlpool of global information war.

Economic benefits and platform control: With the increasing influence of Telegram, governments and enterprises all over the world are aware of the huge economic benefits brought by controlling this platform. Durov’s arrest may also be to force him to make concessions on the management of Telegram or to serve a specific interest group. This event may be driven by economic interests, with the aim of gaining partial control over this global platform.

On the whole, Durov’s arrest is not only a punishment for individual crimes, but also the result of multiple factors of politics, economy and network security. This incident will have a far-reaching impact on global information freedom and privacy protection, and it also marks the further escalation of the global information war.