Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stood in solidarity with detained Russian billionaire Pavel Durov, after he was arrested in France on Saturday in connection with crimes against minors.
Durov, the CEO of Telegram, was arrested Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday, after OFMIN, a French government agency responsible for protecting minors from violence, issued an arrest warrant for him.
CHARGES AGAINST HIM
He was accused of facilitating organized crime, drug trafficking, fraud, cyberbullying, and the promotion of terrorism on his platform, which has around 950million users worldwide.
Musk has joined critics of the arrest who accused authorities of cracking down on free speech, tweeting last night ‘#FreePavel’ with a short clip of Durov speaking with Tucker Carlson.
The interview, which first aired in April, showed Durov praising X for ‘seemingly becoming more freedom of speech.’
‘It’s a great development and things are starting to change, it seems.’
DOES TELEGRAM HAS ‘SECRET CHAT’ OPTION?
Intended as a rival to WhatsApp, Telegram users can have ‘secret chats’, in which messages are stored on devices rather than the cloud, and messages can also be set to self-destruct after a certain time period.
Telegram’s determination to remain ‘neutral’ and not take sides has opened it up to criticism, with terrorists, criminal gangs and extremists using the app as a means of communication.
It has faced criticism over suggestions of being used by far-Right extremists in the recent violent protests across England.
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TELEGRAM OFFICIAL STATEMENT TO THE ARREST
Telegram slammed the arrest of its chief executive Pavel Durov as ‘absurd’ after he was detained over allegations that he failed to curb criminal activity on the messaging app.
The company said in a statement published via the app: ‘Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards.
‘Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,’ it added.
