Chief executive officer of Telegram Pavel Durov was arrested at an airport on Saturday night outside Paris and placed in custody for alleged offenses related to the messaging app.
The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire was accused of failing to mitigate the misuse of his platform for criminal activities.
The messaging app has about 800 million users.
"Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving," Telegram said in a statement on the arrest.
"Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe," it said. "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."
Durov's arrest sparked an outcry online, with some prominent advocates of free online speech claiming it was an attempt at censorship.
Some of these reactions are as follows:
Axios reported that conservative pundits and businessmen warned Sunday that Durov's arrest could set a precedent for other social media executives.
Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski left Europe on Sunday and said France has also "threatened" Rumble.
"We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov's immediate release," he added.
Livemint website reported that American entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan criticized the arrest, asserting that the French government’s actions are driven more by a desire for control than by crime prevention.
Capitalmind's founder and CEO Deepak Shenoy also reacted on Sunday to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's arrest and said that France's decline will be real from now on.
According to AFP, exiled US whistleblower Edward Snowden said, “The arrest of Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association. I am surprised and deeply saddened that [French President] Emmanuel Macron has descended to the level of taking hostages as a means for gaining access to private communications. It lowers not only France but the world”.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has expressed his disapproval of European authorities after the arrest of Pavel Durov, describing it as an attack on free speech. In multiple post Musk demanded justice for Durov. A post by American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy claimed that "It's Telegram today. It'll be X tomorrow ". To which Elon Musk showed agreement saying 'he's right'.
Musk wrote on his X account, “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme”.
Politico reported that Italy's right-wing Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini echoed that sentiment on Facebook, posting: "In Europe we are now under censorship ... Long live freedom, of thought and speech. Who will be the next to be gagged? The great (and inconvenient) Elon Musk?”
Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson who interviewed Durov earlier this year said, “Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. A western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, locked him away”.
Fox News reported that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who suspended his third-party campaign for the US presidential nomination and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump, tweeted: "The need to protect free speech has never been more urgent."
MNA
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