We came across multiple posts on the social media platform X, as well as some on a Singapore-based Telegram channel about the following topic:
Various posts claimed that Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, had been arrested in Paris for using encryption technology, or cryptography, in his app.
Some of the claims added that Durov was also being charged with terrorism and money laundering among other charges, insinuating that the charges were bogus, and one post also included an edited image of the purported charges.
Other claims also suggested that Durov was being held as a political prisoner in France.
In the News
When we conducted a search for information on the arrest in credible news publications, we found that they did not correspond with the details in the claims.
According to France 24, a French public television network, the French President Emmanuel Macron had made an official statement emphasising that the arrest was not a political decision and that it was part of an ongoing judicial investigation.
The article quoted a Paris prosecutor who said that Durov had been arrested as part of an investigation into various crimes being committed on Telegram and the platform founder’s suspected complicity in these crimes.
France 24’s reporting was corroborated by AP News and Reuters, and the news has also been covered in the Singapore media.
We also found a press release on the website of the French court conducting the investigation that detailed all the charges involved. The release showed that while the screenshot of the charges in the X post was accurate, it only revealed part of the entire list of offences being investigated. The charges relating to encryption also did not state that cryptology was a crime, but that they were unauthorised and provided ‘without declaration’.
After having been arrested as part of the investigation, Durov was formally charged by French authorities on 28 August for the same offences for which he had been investigated and barred from leaving the country.
The charges referred to Durov’s complicity in crimes that were organised on Telegram, including child sex crimes, drug trafficking, fraud and money laundering, as well as the failure to cooperate with authorities in their investigation of these crimes.
Public Responses Prompt Rumours
A source close to the investigation told TF1, a French media network, that Durov habitually travelled between the UAE, the countries of the former USSR and South America, and avoided travelling in Europe and other countries where Telegram was under surveillance. Durov, a citizen of Russia, France, the UAE and St. Kitts and Nevis, was arrested after his private jet had unexpectedly landed in Paris on Saturday, 24 August.
The nature of Durov’s sudden high-profile arrest prompted responses from several prominent public figures.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, tweeted in support of Durov, while several of his followers cautioned that he and X could be at similar risk in such jurisdictions for supporting free speech on his platform.
Similar claims about free speech were made by Robert F. Kennedy, who until recently had been an independent candidate for the upcoming US presidential election, and a few days ago suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency.
Figures in Russian politics also weighed in, with one lawmaker saying that the arrest was part of a ‘witch-hunt’ targeting free speech in the West, while former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev suggested France considered Durov to be dangerous because he was Russian.
Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor and whistleblower who revealed the existence of global surveillance programmes, suggested that Macron had taken Durov hostage in order to gain access to private communications.
On the flip side, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised France for being ‘strict’ against those who ‘violate governance’ of the Internet. Telegram is widely used in Iran despite being banned, and criticism of the regime is often heavily punished in the Islamic Republic.
Implications for Free Speech, but Charges Unrelated
As explained by the various news articles, the charges faced by Durov are not the direct perpetration of crimes on Telegram, but rather his alleged abetment of those crimes and his unwillingness to cooperate with the French authorities on investigations on matters of law enforcement.
Nonetheless, Durov’s arrest is likely to spark a wider debate about the role of online platforms in assigning liability for crimes, as it appears to set a precedent for an executive of a company being charged, rather than the company being fined instead.
The false claims regarding the motivations for Durov’s arrest appear to have been driven by the flurry of responses by prominent figures, many of whom are polarising, following the news of Durov’s detention.
Telegram is not the only encrypted messaging app available, with other widely used apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram also offering similar encryption capabilities in their messaging functions. However, Telegram’s comparatively poorer security, lax policies and weaker content moderation have attracted more criminal activity, inviting sanctions and leading to Durov’s arrest.
The claims that Durov was arrested for protecting free speech with encryption are therefore false.
