France’s arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov last Saturday has inflamed global concerns over government intrusion into the privacy of communication and freedom of speech.

Durov, whose encrypted messaging app boasts a billion users worldwide, was arrested at Le Bourget airport near Paris as part of an investigation involving the distribution of child sex abuse material, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions on the platform, French prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.

The arrest warrant was issued by the French child protection agency and alleging that Telegram refused to release information to the authorities, failed to allow messages to be intercepted, and provided cryptographic services to criminals.

The 39-year-old Durov’s detention was extended Sunday evening by the investigating judge handling the case. Under French law, Durov can remain in custody for interrogation for up to four days. After that, judges must decide whether to charge or release him.

Free Speech Champions Defend Telegram

Durov’s arrest is unprecedented, as providers of web services are not normally held liable for the actions of their users and tech entrepreneurs cannot be held accountable for content they cannot see.

In a statement Sunday, Telegram said Durov “had nothing to hide” and that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), rushed to defend Durov. “Liberté, Liberté! Liberté?” he posted, after tweeting a video of media celebrity Tucker Carlson interviewing Durov with the hashtag #FreePavel.

“Instagram has a massive child exploitation problem, but no arrest for Zuck (Mark Zuckerberg), as he censors free speech and gives governments backdoor access to user data,” Musk wrote later .

The Tesla entrepreneur attached a link to an investigation from the Wall Street Journal which concluded: “Instagram connects and promotes accounts that are openly dedicated to the purchasing and selling of child sexual abuse materials.”

“Moderation is a propaganda word for censorship,” he warned.

False Pretext for Censorship

Writing in Britain’s The Spectator, author and columnist Owen Matthews warned that Durov’s arrest “is set to become a battle royal between advocates of free speech and those who seek to regulate it.”

“Though Durov — like Elon Musk — has consistently positioned himself as a free speech absolutist, in reality Telegram’s user guidelines ban ‘terrorist content, scams, illegal pornography or the promotion of violence,’” he clarified, noting that Telegram has removed both Islamic State as well as white supremacist content from its channel in the past.

“Arrests of leaders in technology companies should not be used to violate individual privacy rights,” Reuben Kirkham, codirector of the Free Speech Union of Australia, told media, expressing concern that Durov’s detention heralds a global crackdown on online moderation and free speech.

“Privacy and free speech are often seen as both sides of the same coin. It risks a chilling effect among platform users, who expect their communications to be confidential, without any loopholes or back doors,” Kirkham cautioned.

Macron’s Hypocrisy

On Monday, amid escalating criticism of his country, French president Emmanuel Macron posted a statement insisting that Durov’s arrest was “in no way a political decision” and it is “up to the judges to rule on the matter.”

“France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so,” Macron said. “The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation.”

Chris Pavlovski, founder and CEO of the video platform Rumble, hit back at Macron, complaining that his company “had to shut down Rumble in France” because the government has “NO commitment to freedom of expression.”

“When you say you are committed to freedom of expression, you are lying,” he said bluntly. “We have a letter from France that proves this, without a doubt.”

Macron has been accused of double standards, as he is himself an avid Telegram user, Politico reported.

He uses a private Telegram channel to send communications to more than 150 journalists, as do his Renaissance party and the French interior ministry.

The president has used Telegram since the early days of his first presidential campaign, and cabinet members and political officials of all ranks and parties continue to use the app despite attempts to restrict its use over confidentiality concerns.

Last November, then-Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne banned French ministers and bureaucrats from using WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal, raising concerns over “security flaws” and the failure to “guarantee the security of conversations and information.”

Borne ordered officials to switch to using the French app Olvid by December 8. Olvid is certified by France’s cybersecurity agency ANSSI. Civil servants were also urged to use Tchap, a government-developed secure messaging and collaboration app, launched in 2019.

Why Are Governments Worried About Telegram?

While many Telegram users see the app as a convenient way to chat with family or friends, it rivals competitors in offering additional social networking features like unlimited-size group chats and broadcast “channels” which let users “follow” individual accounts. “Followers” can also leave comments under posts and converse with each other.

As major social networking platforms like Facebook have clamped down on free speech, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, campaigners concerned about lockdowns, forced vaccinations, and the health implications of the jab have migrated to Telegram after being restricted or banned on other sites.

Users are also assured of privacy and can even set up a “secret chat” (not an option for group chats or broadcast channels), which would protect their content from being read by Telegram itself.

“Everything on Telegram, including chats, groups, media, etc. is encrypted using a combination of 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie-Hellman secure key,” the company states.

Unlike Facebook, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted on Monday that senior officials from the Biden administration consistently leaned on him to censor “certain COVID-19 content” on his platform, Durov has resisted government pressure.

Durov Stands for Free Speech

In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Durov revealed that US federal law enforcement had indeed tried to coerce a Telegram engineer into altering the platform’s software to enable law enforcement to read users’ messages.

“We get too much attention from the FBI, the security agencies, wherever we came to the US,” Durov said. “So, to give you an example, last time I was in the US, I brought an engineer [who] is working for Telegram, and there was an attempt to secretly hire my engineer behind my back by cyber security officers or agents, whatever they are called.

“They were trying to persuade him to use certain open-source tools that he would then integrate into the Telegram code that, in my understanding, would serve as backdoors,” Durov told Carlson.

“Would that allow the US government to spy on people who use Telegram?” Carlson asked.

“The US government, or maybe any other government, because a backdoor is a backdoor regardless of who is using it. That’s right,” Durov said.

In 2015, Durov dismissed accusations that his platform was a safe haven for the Islamic State, arguing only that “privacy is more important than our fear of bad things happening, like terrorism.”

From Russia to Dubai

Born in Saint Petersburg, Durov left Russia in 2014 after refusing to hand over the contact information of pro-democracy Ukrainian activists on VKontakte, a Russian social media platform he founded, during the Euromaidan movement.

Durov spent much of his childhood in Italy and holds citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, France, Russia, and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The entrepreneur moved Telegram to the UAE when he relocated to Dubai in 2017.

On Tuesday, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “closely following” Durov’s case and that it had “submitted a request to the French government to provide him with all consular services urgently.

“Caring for citizens, preserving their interests, following up on their affairs, and providing them with all aspects of care are a top priority for the UAE,” the ministry said in the statement.

Under Macron’s rule, France has become increasingly authoritarian, with armed police arresting six Christians earlier this month for renting a coach to drive around Paris displaying the slogan “Stop Attacks on Christians,” with an image of the Last Supper parody from the recent Olympic opening ceremony, The Stream reported.

Police charged the Christians with “protesting without permission from the French government,” even though the campaigners were not part of any protest or demonstration.

 

Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.