French prosecutors have formally charged Telegram CEO Pavel Durov with facilitating various criminal activities on the popular messaging platform. Following his arrest on Saturday, Durov, who holds both Russian and French citizenship, has been placed under formal investigation. The charges against him include complicity in the dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), enabling organized crime, illicit transactions, drug trafficking, and fraud.
Additionally, Durov faces charges for “refusal to communicate, at the request of competent authorities, information or documents necessary for carrying out and operating interceptions allowed by law,” according to an English translation of the official press release.
Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport near Paris after arriving on a private jet. To avoid pretrial detention, he has been required to pay a €5 million bail, is prohibited from leaving France, and must report to authorities twice a week.
The investigation, which began with a preliminary probe in February 2024, was prompted by concerns over Telegram’s lenient moderation policies that allegedly allowed extremist and illegal activities to flourish. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau noted that several French and European investigative agencies had raised concerns about Telegram’s lack of cooperation in judicial matters, leading to the current charges.
In addition to the main charges, Durov is also accused of providing cryptographic services without proper declaration and importing cryptographic tools that bypass legal requirements.
This case is notable as one of the rare instances where a company’s executive has been held personally accountable for the content shared by users on a major platform, which boasts over 950 million monthly active users. Durov, who previously founded the Russian social media platform Vkontakte, launched Telegram in 2013.
Following his arrest, Telegram issued a statement on X, defending Durov by asserting that he has “nothing to hide” and calling it “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.” The company also pointed out that it regularly bans thousands of groups and channels related to child abuse.
Despite these defenses, it is noteworthy that Telegram’s terms of service specify that the platform does not process requests related to illegal content shared in its chats and group chats. Politico reported that arrest warrants for Durov and his brother Nikolai were issued by French authorities in March 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron clarified that Durov’s arrest was not politically motivated but part of an independent investigation.
The Wall Street Journal also revealed that Durov’s iPhone was hacked by French spies in 2017 during a joint operation with the United Arab Emirates, codenamed Purple Music, due to concerns about Telegram’s use by Islamic State operatives for recruitment and planning attacks.
