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The founder and CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, responded to the public for the first time since he was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget airport on August 24, 2024.
The French government accused Durov of not taking action against illegal content on Telegram, such as drug sales, videos of child sexual abuse, and scams. Durov said that these claims were "misguided" and that holding him personally responsible for the content on the site is not inappropriate.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Responds to Accusations
In a message shared on Telegram, Durov said he was surprised that he was being targeted instead of the company. Durov said that the platform's problems were caused by the fact that it has quickly gained 950 million users, which has caused "growing pains" that have made it easier for criminals to abuse the app.
He promised that Telegram would work to improve its filtering and get rid of hazardous content, said the New York Times. The case against Durov has added to the ongoing discussion about how to balance free speech with content moderation on the internet.
People who live in countries with strict governments depend on Telegram to communicate. However, it has been attacked for letting radical and fake news spread because it doesn't check the content of its messages very often.
For a long time, law enforcement has criticized Telegram for failing to cooperate with investigations, saying that the platform has "almost completely ignored" requests about illegal activities.
Durov Defends Telegram's Response to Illegal Content
Durov disagreed with what the French government said, saying that Telegram has a contact person in the EU who can be reached at an email address that anyone can see. He also talked about how often he talks to the French Consulate in Dubai, where he lives, and said that he helped the French government set up a hotline to help fight terrorism.
Durov said that he shouldn't be held responsible by French rules from before smartphones for things that other people did on the platform. He stressed that in these situations, lawsuits should be brought against companies instead of people.
Noting that Telegram has some issues, Durov refuted the idea that it is an "anarchic paradise," saying that the company gets rid of millions of harmful posts and channels every day, NDTV reported.
After being detained in France for four days, Durov was freed on $5.5 million bail. He has to stay in France and go to a police station twice a week. One of the charges against him is failure to stop illegal and dangerous content on Telegram.
Famous individuals have backed Durov's status, such as Elon Musk, CEO of X, who openly backed Durov with the hashtag #FreePavel. Even though Durov is in trouble with the law, he remains committed to improving Telegram's regulation and stand up for the platform's values against what he sees as outdated legal frameworks.
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