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canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

Pavel Durov, head of the Dubai-based proprietary "app" Telegram, had been wanted by the French authorities for his lack of cooperation in monitoring and filtering the activities of the users of his "app". This is in spite of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling that any weakening of end-to-end encryption disproportionately risks undermining human rights [schneier.com]. Multiple sites are now reporting that he has been arrested on a warrant in France during a flight layover in his private jet:

The Korea Times, Telegram chief Pavel Durov arrested at French airport: officials [koreatimes.co.kr]:

France's OFMIN, an agency tasked with preventing violence against minors, had issued an arrest warrant for Durov as the coordinating agency in a preliminary investigation into alleged offenses including fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime and promotion of terrorism, one of the sources close to the case said.

Durov is suspected of failing to take action to curb the criminal use of his platform.

Voice of America, CEO of Telegram messaging app arrested in France, say French media [voanews.com]:

Based in Dubai, Telegram was founded by Russian-born Durov. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold.

Durov was traveling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.

The Guardian, Telegram app founder Pavel Durov reportedly arrested at French airport [theguardian.com]:

The Russia-born entrepreneur lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based, and holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates.

Durov, who is estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of $15.5bn (£12bn), left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold.

Reuters, Telegram messaging app CEO Durov arrested in France [reuters.com]:

The encrypted Telegram, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.

The Jerusalem Post, Pavel Durov, Telegram founder, arrested by France following warrant [jpost.com]:

Durov, 39, was said to have been arrested at 8pm French time, having flown in from Azerbaijan. The warrant on Durov was only valid if he was on French soil. As a result, TF1 reported that Durov traveled via the UAE, former Soviet countries and South America to avoid arrest in Europe. He also reportedly avoided traveling through countries where Telegram is under surveillance.

"He made a big mistake this evening," a source close to the investigation told TF1. "We don't know why... Was this flight just a stopover? In any case, he's in custody."

The Moscow Times, Telegram Boss Pavel Durov Detained in France – French Media [themoscowtimes.com]:

It has become a key platform for sharing information about the war in Ukraine and is reportedly used by the Russian military to communicate.

"Telegram is the main social media network through which open-source information [sic] is spread about the war. That includes footage but also opinions and analysis from Russian and Ukrainian military sources. A significant change to Telegram's policies could have a significant effect on the information domain for this war," military expert Rob Lee said on X (formerly Twitter).

The Hindu, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested at French airport [thehindu.com]:

Telegram allows groups of up to 2,00,000 members, which has led to accusations that it makes it easier for false information to spread virally

Reuters, Who is Pavel Durov, CEO of messaging app Telegram? [reuters.com]:

* Russia began blocking Telegram in 2018 after the app refused to comply with a court order to grant state security services access to its users' encrypted messages. The action had little effect on the availability of Telegram there, but it sparked mass protests in Moscow and criticism from NGOs.

* Telegram's increasing popularity, however, has prompted scrutiny from several countries in Europe, including France, on security and data breach concerns. In May, the EU tech regulators said they were in touch with Telegram as it neared a key usage criterion that could see it subject to more stringent requirements under a landmark EU online content legislation.

The New York Post, Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested at Paris airport: report [nypost.com]:

Pavel Durov, the co-founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested at an airport in Paris Saturday after getting off his private jet, according to French media reports.

The billionaire Russian exile was arrested at around 8p.m. at Le Bourget airport by french cops after flying in from Azerbaijan, French outlet TF1 Info reported.

Deutsche Welle, Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested in France [dw.com]:

French police arrested Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday.

Durov was arrested on a warrant for offenses related to the popular messaging app, the AFP news agency reported, citing unnamed officials.

According to French broadcaster TF1, Durov was traveling aboard his private jet from Azerbaijan and was arrested around 8 p.m. local time (1800 GMT).

Previously:
(2024) Backdoors that Let Cops Decrypt Messages Violate Human Rights, EU Court Says [soylentnews.org]
(2022) Telegram Has a Serious Doxing Problem [soylentnews.org]
(2021) Bug? No, Telegram Exposing Its Users' Precise Location is a Feature Working as 'Expected' [soylentnews.org]
(2019) Telegram Encrypted Messaging Service Attacked Amid Hong Kong Protests [soylentnews.org]
(2018) Telegram's Move to Swift on iOS Promises a More Battery-friendly App [soylentnews.org]
(2018) Cybercrooks are Switching to Telegram [soylentnews.org]
(2018) Telegram Says Apple Has Been Rejecting its App Updates Even Outside of Russia [soylentnews.org]
(2018) Russia Will Block Telegram Because of Encryption [soylentnews.org]
(and more)

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