Pavel Durov commented for the first time on the arrest in France

Pavel Durov was informed in Paris that he could be held personally liable for illegal use of Telegram, as French authorities have not received any response from the company.

This situation surprised him for several reasons. Firstly, Telegram has an official representative in the EU who responds to requests from regulators. Secondly, the French authorities could contact him directly, as he frequently visited the French consulate in Dubai. In addition, according to Durov, he personally helped launch a hotline to combat terrorism through the messenger.

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He also stressed that the authorities’ standard practice is to initiate legal proceedings against the service if there are complaints about its work. He called the use of outdated laws to hold the CEO accountable for the actions of third parties on the platform a “flawed approach.” According to him, the development of technology is already difficult and developers will not create new tools if they take personal responsibility for their potential abuse.

According to Durov, striking a balance between privacy and security is a difficult task. The messenger is ready to engage in dialogue with regulators to find this balance. And if the authorities of a country and Telegram cannot come to an agreement on these issues, the company is ready to leave this market. As an example, he cited cases in Russia and Iran, where Telegram refused to comply with government demands that violated users’ rights, as a result of which it was blocked.

Durov also admitted that the messenger is not ideal. The project team plans to improve the system for handling requests from authorities. He added that the platform removes millions of malicious messages every day and publishes reports on its activities. In response to accusations of insufficient measures, Durov said the company has already started working to improve processes and will soon provide more information.

On the same day, Vladimir Putin commented for the first time on the detention of Pavel Durov in France. The President said that the actions of the authorities in this country “are not very clear” because they are selective in nature.

• Durov was arrested at Paris’ Le Bourget airport on 24 August and arrived there on a private jet from Azerbaijan. On 28 August he was released on bail of 5 million euros and banned from leaving France.
• The case in which the founder of Telegram was arrested contains charges of 12 crimes against an “unidentified person.” These charges include: refusal to cooperate with the authorities, complicity in the possession and distribution of pornographic images of minors.
• According to RIA Novosti, the investigation into the Pavel Durov case could last several months.