How Telegram Chief Pavel Durov Got Moderation Wrong

Yet online security researchers have long warned that Telegram has become a breeding ground for criminals, hackers, disinformation spreaders, conspiracy theorists and extremists fleeing tighter restrictions imposed by rivals such as Meta’s Facebook and Google’s YouTube.

“On Telegram, these actually appear to be crimes, so it was astonishing how much they got away with,” said Megan Squire, deputy director for data analytics at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project.

Squire, who monitors more than 500 of the roughly 30,000 extremist groups on Telegram, said the platform had not previously attracted the attention of lawmakers because it was based in Dubai and funded by Durov himself, who has a billion-dollar crypto fortune.

But, she added, the hands-off approach to moderation “finally caught up with them.”

Durov was dubbed the “Mark Zuckerberg of Russia” after co-founding the most popular social media network, VKontakte. But he fled the country in 2014 after reportedly refusing to meet Moscow’s demands for access to certain Ukrainian user data.

Speaking to the Financial Times in March, he stressed that child abuse material and public calls for violence were “red lines” for Telegram.

But Durov said his experiences with repression in Russia had shaped his unwavering belief in protecting freedom of expression, adding that some “young people in the West take freedoms for granted”.

While his French nationality may have played a role in bringing the case under the jurisdiction of the public prosecutor, the fact that Telegram is suspected of having committed criminal offences on French territory is more relevant, lawyers in France said.

French prosecutors and law enforcement officials have also developed a level of expertise in investigating cybercrime, led by a specialized unit within the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office known as the “J3.”

French police, specialized in cybercrime, also played a major role in the investigation into the cracking of EncroChat, a communication system used by organized criminals, which led to hundreds of arrests and seizures of millions of euros across Europe in 2020.

One of the charges French prosecutors are making in their investigation into Telegram is the refusal to cooperate with authorities and hand over information and documents “necessary for the conduct and implementation of legally authorised wiretapping operations”.

Last year, Telegram was temporarily banned in Brazil after the service allegedly failed to respond to government requests for data on neo-Nazi activities.

Sam Woolley, a professor and expert on disinformation at the University of Pittsburgh, said there was a “deep-seated distrust” of Telegram in France since it was used to coordinate the terrorists who carried out the 2015 Paris attacks.

“Durov has repeatedly ignored specific (government) requests … as well as ongoing concerns about terrorism,” Woolley said. “You haven’t seen the same kind of willful disobedience from companies like Meta.”

The 39-year-old is hailed as a free speech hero by liberals like entrepreneur Elon Musk. Musk publicly opposes any government attempt to tighten controls on free speech.

The hashtag #freepavel has gained traction on Musk’s X platform. In Silicon Valley, some accuse France of overreach that could stifle innovation, while others expect far-reaching consequences for some social media activities.

“If I were Elon, I would pay close attention,” said Katie Harbath, global affairs officer at Duco Experts and former policy director at Meta.

Durov has tried to distance himself from his native Russia in recent years, saying speculation that he was still dependent on the Kremlin, given the heavy use of Telegram by Moscow’s leaders, was “conspiracy theories.”

However, when asked about his position on President Vladimir Putin or the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said: “Let’s not get into that.”

Moscow lawmakers have labelled the arrest as politically motivated, a claim French President Emmanuel Macron denies.

Before Durov’s arrest, he flew from Baku in Azerbaijan, where Putin was at the time. Moscow says the pair have not met. Telegram has said the businessman has “nothing to hide.”

“He refused to choose the authoritarian government of Russia. But he also tried to defy moderation and not provide data to (democratic) governments,” said Aleksandra Urman, a researcher at the University of Zurich who has studied extremism on the platform. “He tries to go in between. It seems like you really can’t not take a position.”

Child safety experts have responded to Durov’s arrest by calling for more government action on online safety worldwide. “The only question now is why is the U.S. Department of Justice (not) involved?” said Benjamin Bull, general counsel for the U.S.-based National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

This growing focus “will test companies in how much they are willing to push back against the institutions that want them to take down content,” said Sriram Krishnan, an investor at Andreessen Horowitz.

“If you’re an executive at a company and you can be arrested the minute you step off a plane, that sets a chilling tone.”