French authorities over the weekend arrested 39-year-old Russian-born Pavel Durov, the co-founder and CEO of the social media messaging platform Telegram.
Durov, who holds dual citizenship in France and Russia, had disembarked his jet at the Le Bourget airport from a flight from Azerbaijan, when he was met by French police, who detained him in connection with allegations that Telegram was being used for illegal activities, such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and pornography involving children.
Telegram is an instant messaging app that is popular because of its security settings and encrypted privacy features.
France has extended police authority to keep Durov in custody, but where the tech billionaire is being held has not been disclosed. He is being interrogated by France’s National Anti-Fraud Office, which has vast authorities over a wide range of activity. While Durov has still not been charged with a crime, officials said that he is being held as part of an investigation “against person unnamed.”
“We live in a world where George Orwell’s ideas have completely triumphed,” wrote Boris Rojine on Colonelcassad, which is a popular military channel on Telegram.
LeMonde, a mainstream media outlet in France, reported that Russian social media networks are claiming the arrest came from orders from Washington, D.C., and relate to the U.S. presidential election, “in order to bring Telegram, which is popular across the Atlantic, under control; Paris is also said to be worried about Durov’s links with Azerbaijan, where he had just spent a few days and where, according to a rumor denied by the Kremlin, he even met Russian President Vladimir Putin; according to another rumor, Paris allegedly has genuine personal grievances against the Telegram founder.”
Elon Musk, who bought majority shares in X/Twitter to turn it into a free-speech platform, says the real motive behind Durov’s arrest is “Freedom of expression is being suppressed in Europe.” Musk may not be traveling to France in the near future.
Musk also used the X platform to post a video of an April interview Durov gave Tucker Carlson, in which Durov revealed that the United States government had tried to infiltrate Telegram’s servers through back-door channels to gain access without the company’s knowledge.
Musk also questioned why Instagram/Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has not been arrested, but answered his own question: “Because he already caved into censorship pressure. Instagram has a massive child exploitation problem, but no arrest for Zuck, as he censors free speech and gives governments backdoor access to user data.”
Traveling abroad is risky for the average Joe as much as it is for tech industry officials. I don’t even want to travel to much of the Lower 48 anymore.
Reggie
They are being arrested in this country also while using the first amendment freedom of speech.
We need to fight for our rights that the lefts want to take away.
The reason Durov and his brother left Russia was the government wanted access to users’ information. He looked at several countries to move Telegram to, which theoretically honored “free speech”, including the US, before settling in Dubai. The NATO countries are not sovereign, they are controlled by our country. The timing is not coincidental, this is a US election season with the globalist agenda on the line. The irony of the US and Europe claiming “values” and rights of freedom, elections and all the blather. The other concern to the globalists is the Toncoin feature with Telegram. Control of money and wealth is a priority for totalitarian systems.
I pray for him that they do not murder him for not buckling in to their wishes. I hope that Telegram does not become another intelligence-gathering site.
Isn’t it curious that the left of all people want to completely give up their rights and become slaves to the machine. We will be exactly like China you piss anyone off in the CCP and your family members start disappearing. The lefties of the 60s wanted freedom from everything. The leftists of 2024 want complete government control and to live in bondage exactly what our fathers and grandfathers and their fathers fought to keep from happening. If Harris wins in November everyone looses. And I mean everyone.
Why hasn’t Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg been arrested for election meddling in the 2016 & 2020 American presidential races? The short answer is that he is a tool of the Globalist Elite!
Careful Elon, the ice is getting very thin when you let the truth be told.
As Sniffy Biden consistently repeats there are the facts and then there is the “Biden truth”.
Ah yes, the socialist French, very capable at surrendering, and appeasing, for example, the Nazis after being invaded May, 1940. No surprise that they would arrest a proponent of free speech.
What is surprising, is in Surprise, Arizona, a woman was arrested for speaking during the open forum portion of the Surprise city council meeting. Why was she arrested? She had the audacity to criticize a government official. For this, she was arrested. The speaker was arrested because she didn’t like the massive, proposed pay raise for the city attorney who is already being paid $266,000.00 per year, and was, according to her, doing a bad job.
So she was arrested. The idiot mayor had no concern for the 1st amendment. You can read the shocking story here:
‘https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2024/08/26/mayor-elect-kevin-sartor-condemns-arrest-of-surprise-resident-defends-first-amendment-rights/
Local government sucks. It is a cancer.
If you are not calling or writing your representatives you are a HUGE part of the mess we find our selves in. Now tell me all about how it won’t do any good. Best you just close your intake vent.
He was arrested for refusing to install a back door for the CIA into his software. We are at the point of time in the west where any government can arrest anyone for any reason and hold him / her indefinitely. Hardly an improvement in human. political or property rights. Cheers –
And this is what the left wants to turn us into.
We have turned into this, there are no social media platforms based in the US that are not accessed and censored by our Intelligence Community. All data from phones, Emails ect., are collected, without warrants.
Better add a current chapter to The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Western Civilization). The Left destroys everything it touches.
Hey Jim. Which party is responsible for the planned violent attack on the capital and our constitution?
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