Telegram, founded in 2013 by the Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov, has grown into one of the world’s largest online communication tools and is central to everyday life in countries like Russia, Ukraine and India for messaging, getting independent news and exchanging views.
The company’s growth — it now has more than 900 million users — has been driven partly by a commitment to free speech. Telegram’s light oversight of what people say or do on the platform has helped people living under authoritarian governments communicate and organize. But it has also made the app a haven for disinformation, far-right extremism and other harmful content.
Many were shocked when reports emerged on Saturday that Durov had been arrested in France on charges related to the spread of illicit material on the service. As word spread online, his reported detention became a flashpoint in a continuing debate about free speech on the internet.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, which has adopted a similarly hands-off approach to content moderation, posted “#FreePavel” on his X account.
Telegram has long been on the radar of law enforcement agencies around the world because terrorist organizations, drug sellers, weapons dealers and far-right extremist groups have used it for communicating, recruiting and organizing.
Durov, 39, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport near Paris after landing on a private plane from Azerbaijan, according to French news reports.
Representatives of the French police and Interior Ministry declined to comment and redirected questions to the Paris prosecutor’s office. The Paris prosecutor’s office, citing an open investigation, also declined to comment.
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