Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov, arrested in France over content moderation polices. His app is accussed of enabling child porn and drug trafficking. Pavel Durov was arrested when his private jet landed in France.
The private marketing app is used by 900 million people; It is one of the world’s largest messaging apps. It is used for some illicit activities. His arrest is tied to the looser content moderation policies.
Telegram is very popular in Russia where Pavel Durov was born and raised.
Pavel Durov very much runs the app on his own. He has 30 employees, he is the sole director and equity holder.
The arrest of Pavel Durov has caused a lot of backlash in France and around the world.
Pavel Durov was born in Russia but lives in Dubai. He holds dual citizenship of United Arab Emirates and France.
In 2018, Telegram was banned in Russia after the CEO refused to surrender user data to the state. The ban was reversed in 2021.
Telegram is one of the biggest social media platforms after Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, IG, TikTok and WeChat.
Durov founded Telegram in 2013.
Elon Musk used his X handle to call for #FreePavel.
Telegram allows groups of up to 200,000 members which critics say makes it easy for misinformation to spread fast.
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Pavel Durov earned a Master of Science from Saint Petersberg State University in Russia.
At age 22, he created Russia’s biggest social media network.
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