"I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov. France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so," Macron stated. "In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights. It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law. The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter."
Durov was served an arrest warrant as soon as he landed at the French Bourget airport at 8 pm local time while traveling on his private jet. Authorities stated that he was being detained for alleged offenses of terrorism, narcotic supply, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods and others due to conversations that had occurred on Telegram. The app provides end-to-end encryption messaging which allows users to have their chats kept inaccessible to third parties. Duvov is facing 20 years in prison for lack of moderation of his app.
French authorities revealed the charges against Duvov on Monday, which include, Complicity – possessing pornographic images of minors; Complicity – organized fraud; Laundering of the proceeds derived from organized group’s offences and crimes; and Complicity – web-mastering an online platform in order to enable an illegal transaction in organized group. Duvov has been charged with 12 offenses in total.
