French authorities arrest Telegram’s CEO

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is reportedly in custody after being arrested close to Paris Saturday night as he was departing his personal jet. The billionaire was apprehended on a warrant associated to a preliminary investigation, writes Reuters.

French authorities consider that the platform’s lack of moderation has “allowed legal exercise to go on undeterred on the messaging app.” Durov will go earlier than a choose tonight and may very well be indicted as early as Sunday, based on sources for TF1 TV (which we learn utilizing Google Translate), one in every of two French retailers cited by Reuters.

Telegram has change into a important useful resource as individuals flip to it to seek out essential data in locations the place heavy data censorship is frequent, corresponding to Russia. However Durov’s desire for hands-off moderation has additionally helped make it a haven for unhealthy actors, with the platform solely controlling its content material when it’s pressured to take action by different governments and organizations.