French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
Quote:There are scant details on this story that broke late Saturday evening, but we'll share what's been reported on the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, getting taken into custody at a French airport by government officials, on an arrest warrant accusing the website of failing to moderate content that was allegedly used in criminal activity.
via CNN:
French authorities have detained Pavel Durov, the French-Russian billionaire who founded the messaging app Telegram, at an airport outside Paris, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Officers from France’s anti-fraud office, attached to French customs, took him into custody Saturday evening after he arrived at Bourget Airport on a flight from Azerbaijan, BFMTV reported.
Durov, 39, was wanted under a French arrest warrant due to the lack of moderation on Telegram which led to it being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing pedophilic content, according to BFMTV.
According to BFMTV, the Telegram founder had not regularly travelled to France and Europe since the arrest warrant was issued.
At the time of this writing, there was no comment from the French prosecutor's office to CNN.
X owner Elon Musk reacted to the news by sharing an X post on the CEO being detained, writing a prediction about the future of social media: "POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme."
Then Musk asked Grok, the AI for X's paid platform users, for its "thoughts":
If you can't see the post, it shows a summary of media reports on the arrest, with Musk writing above it:
Check out this ad for the First Amendment. It is very convincing.
Quote:Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski has announced that he has “safely departed” from Europe following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France and subsequent threats made against Rumble by French authorities.
Durov was previously detained at Le Bourget Airport near Paris on Sunday after arriving from Azerbaijan on a private jet. The arrest, executed under a warrant for Durov who holds dual citizenship of both France and the United Arab Emirates, reportedly stems from allegations that Durov failed to moderate content on Telegram. He now faces a potential 20-year prison sentence on charges including terrorism, narcotics trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and receiving stolen goods.
In a statement, Pavlovski condemned the actions taken against Durov and vowed to fight for freedom of expression.
“France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech,” Pavlovski said in a post on X. “Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release.”
Pavlovski also pointed out in an additional post on X that Rumble has been banned and threatened by several countries around the world. He stated that “free speech is under major assault” and that he “will not stop fighting for it.”
In response to the incident, Elon Musk, the owner of X, emphasized the importance of supporting free speech. He urged users to share posts on his platform, particularly in countries with heavy censorship, stating, “It is vital to the support of free speech that you forward X posts to people you know, especially in censorship-heavy countries.”
Quote:Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski has announced that he has “safely departed” from Europe following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France and subsequent threats made against Rumble by French authorities.
Durov was previously detained at Le Bourget Airport near Paris on Sunday after arriving from Azerbaijan on a private jet. The arrest, executed under a warrant for Durov who holds dual citizenship of both France and the United Arab Emirates, reportedly stems from allegations that Durov failed to moderate content on Telegram. He now faces a potential 20-year prison sentence on charges including terrorism, narcotics trafficking, fraud, money laundering, and receiving stolen goods.
In a statement, Pavlovski condemned the actions taken against Durov and vowed to fight for freedom of expression.
“France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech,” Pavlovski said in a post on X. “Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release.”
Pavlovski also pointed out in an additional post on X that Rumble has been banned and threatened by several countries around the world. He stated that “free speech is under major assault” and that he “will not stop fighting for it.”
In response to the incident, Elon Musk, the owner of X, emphasized the importance of supporting free speech. He urged users to share posts on his platform, particularly in countries with heavy censorship, stating, “It is vital to the support of free speech that you forward X posts to people you know, especially in censorship-heavy countries.”
The West is now full bore communist. The inevitable collapse has arrived.
Quote:Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away. Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world. Here’s our interview with Durov from several months ago:
RE: French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
Americans don’t care. You can tell them over and over they are reading highly censored news, curated by the State Department and CIA, carefully crafted in order to manipulate them.
Very, very few people here even care.
That’s why we get what we deserve.
Lazy and dumb citizens will never have a good government.
Percent of Telegram’s user who are American? Probably about one one thousandth of a percent.
(This post was last modified: 08-26-2024 01:20 AM by Todor.)
RE: French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
Got to give it up for Charlie Kirk. He saw this months ago when the Senate was debating banning Tik-Tok. Kirk mentioned Telegram as one of the few platforms not being censored.
He expected the US to target Telegram because it had owners from outside the US. Not in US means not controllable by US "intelligence" agencies. That's the excuse they were using for targeting Tik-Tok.
This is just the beginning. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
(This post was last modified: 08-26-2024 03:37 AM by CardinalJim.)
RE: French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
Quote: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.
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.
RE: French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
(08-26-2024 03:36 AM)CardinalJim Wrote: Got to give it up for Charlie Kirk. He saw this months ago when the Senate was debating banning Tik-Tok. Kirk mentioned Telegram as one of the few platforms not being censored.
He expected the US to target Telegram because it had owners from outside the US. Not in US means not controllable by US "intelligence" agencies. That's the excuse they were using for targeting Tik-Tok.
This is just the beginning. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
Tik-Tok is Chinese Spyware disguised as an app. Also, Charlie Kirk is a neocon shill for Israel.
RE: French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
(08-26-2024 12:22 PM)andybible1995 Wrote:
(08-26-2024 03:36 AM)CardinalJim Wrote: Got to give it up for Charlie Kirk. He saw this months ago when the Senate was debating banning Tik-Tok. Kirk mentioned Telegram as one of the few platforms not being censored.
He expected the US to target Telegram because it had owners from outside the US. Not in US means not controllable by US "intelligence" agencies. That's the excuse they were using for targeting Tik-Tok.
This is just the beginning. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
Tik-Tok is Chinese Spyware disguised as an app. Also, Charlie Kirk is a neocon shill for Israel.
right and right ... acting is a powerful thingy ... the oligarchs call 'em useful idiots...
RE: French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
I’m no Clarence but it appears he is being charge for crimes other people did possibly without his knowledge. So when are they arresting every single one of the SM giants?
RE: French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
(08-26-2024 12:26 PM)stinkfist Wrote:
(08-26-2024 12:22 PM)andybible1995 Wrote:
(08-26-2024 03:36 AM)CardinalJim Wrote: Got to give it up for Charlie Kirk. He saw this months ago when the Senate was debating banning Tik-Tok. Kirk mentioned Telegram as one of the few platforms not being censored.
He expected the US to target Telegram because it had owners from outside the US. Not in US means not controllable by US "intelligence" agencies. That's the excuse they were using for targeting Tik-Tok.
This is just the beginning. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
Tik-Tok is Chinese Spyware disguised as an app. Also, Charlie Kirk is a neocon shill for Israel.
right and right ... acting is a powerful thingy ... the oligarchs call 'em useful idiots...
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[NEWS] French Officials Nab Founder of Telegram App, Pavel Durov at Airport on Arrest Warran
