A year has passed since the arrest of the CEO and co-founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, arousing the indignation of militants of freedom of expression and concerns about the future of the moderation of the platform.
On August 24, 2024, Durov was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget airport in Paris, France, as part of a French national judicial police investigation. The 12 accusations later deposited against him claim that he is an accomplice of serious crimes committed by users on his platform.
Durov expressed his confusion and frustration about the case during the recent interviews. The defenders of freedom of expression criticized arrest, declaring that it has serious implications for freedom of expression and the development of the platform.
Now, a year later, there is little progress in the case, and the new challenges for user confidentiality on messaging platforms are increasing.
A year after the arrest of Durov, no test set
Durov was arrested last year after the miners of the Office of France (OFMIN) – the criminal application agency which oversees crimes against minors – issued a mandate in a preliminary survey on the telegram.
Investigators said Telegram does not moderate the content and, therefore, Durov was an accomplice of alleged offenses ranging from fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and organized crime.
In a press release, Telegram said he had respected EU laws, including the Digital Services Act and that its moderation was in line with industry standards.
The Society tone, an organization behind the development of the open network based on the old Telegram blockchain project, called the arrest “a direct assault against a basic human right”. The famous denunciator Edward Snowden accused French President Emmanuel Macron of “taking hostages for accessing private communications”.
Durov only broken his silence until September 2024, when he declared in a statement on Telegram that the company was “ready to leave markets which are not compatible with our principles”. He also said he was surprised by the arrest, since Telegram would have many mechanisms through which he cooperated with the authorities.
In relation: Libreuse of expression and online confidentiality: the rise of Pavel Durov at the top
Durov said the arrest also had a personal toll, declaring that his partner Juli Vavilova had made a miscarriage due to the stress of the investigation.
He would not make his first appearance in court before December and, a few months later, won a limited freedom to go to the United Arab Emirates to lead business while the case against him in France is underway.
In a June interview with Tucker Carlson, Durov clarified that he was not currently on trial, but rather forced to appear before the so-called “investigation judges” whose work is “knowing if there is enough evidence to be judged”.
He described the current requirement to remain in France “very strange and very useless”, since procedural, he must appear before the court every few months. He said that he hoped that the situation can be resolved, or that he can at least get the travel restriction in the coming months.
As of August 24, the investigation is still underway.
Governments slow down encrypted messengers around the world
Durov’s case intervenes as regulators around the world to target the encrypted messaging services.
Denmark, which currently holds the presidency of the European Council, has presented a bill that would require encrypted messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, to scan each message, photo and video sent by users.
The bill, called “regulation to prevent and combat sexual abuses on children” or “cat control” by criticism, would have obtained the support of 19 of the 27 Member States. To pass, he must have the support of at least 15 countries, and these countries must contain at least 65% of the EU population.
The European Crypto initiative asked citizens to call their members of the European Parliament and said that he would go directly to regulators during a stakeholder session in September.
Durov said he prefers Télégramme to leave certain markets to comply with the regulations that violate the ethical principles of the private life.
“The telegram prefers to leave a market to undermine encryption with deadlines and violate fundamental human rights. Unlike some of our competitors, we do not negotiate privacy for a market share,” he said.
In the country of origin of Durov, Russia, the government has repressed the encrypted messengers, prohibiting WhatsApp and Telegram, alleging that they are used for fraud and terrorism. He also banned Facebook, Instagram and X.
Instead of these, the government has developed the Max messaging application, with VK, a social media platform itself developed by Durov. Durov left VK in 2014 after refusing user data to Ukrainian demonstrators demonstrating against pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.
Max, which incorporates government services and peers payments directly into the application, has been accused of storing user data, including contact lists, metadata, IP addresses and horodatages, and to make this data available to the authorities. The phones sold in Russia will be delivered with the preinstalled application from September 1.
The whole world, encrypted messengers are increasing pressure to compromise privacy. Whether in an increasingly authoritarian country or under the very legitimate concern of children’s safety, user confidentiality, once removed, is not easily won. The case of Durov, although it takes place at a glacial rate, will undoubtedly have implications on how the messengers are regulated and authorized to develop.
Review: Can private life survive the policy of American crypto after the conviction of Roman Storm?