Pavel Durov, the Russian-origin billionaire founder of the messaging app - Telegram, was arrested shortly after landing on a private jet at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Saturday night from Azerbaijan and taken into custody. The arrest is speculated to have a potential impact on its operations in India, as the government might consider a ban on the platform in the country.
In the wake of the Durov arrest, India's IT ministry has engaged with the Ministry of Indian Home Affairs to investigate Telegram over its alleged involvement in criminal activities that include extortion and gambling in India followed by the required action considered in response. Notably, the IT Ministry in India does not handle such investigations; rather, CERT-in inspects cybersecurity offenses instead of general cybercrimes. According to the reports, the Indian government is considering a possible ban in the country, depending on the probe findings.
"The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) (under MHA) and MeitY have been looking into P2P communications on Telegram," said a government official to Moneycontrol anonymously.
Under IT rules, Telegram has designated a nodal officer and presents monthly compliance reports. However, the source also added that the Indian government is facing difficulty in probing Telegram because they have no physical presence in the country, leading to complications in retrieving user data.
Durov, who holds both the United Arab Emirates and French citizenship, was taken into custody as part of an ongoing preliminary police investigation. The arrest is reportedly due to allegations that his app, Telegram, has facilitated a wide range of criminal activities, with insufficient moderation and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement. This situation resulted in ongoing criminal activities being conducted on the messaging app.
It is important to highlight the recent much-hyped UGC-NEET controversy, where reports emerged that the question papers for the medical entrance examination were leaked and sold out in ₹5,000 - ₹10,000 through the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
Also, in October 2023, the Indian IT ministry issued a notice to social media platforms including Telegram, directing them to exclude CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) from the platforms.
In a statement issued by Telegram following the arrest, the company said, "Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving,".
"Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe," it said. "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform."
The 39-year-old Durov previously co-founded VKontakte in 2007 in St Petersburg. In 2013, in an interview, he accepted being under pressure from Russian authorities to deliver the data related to the accounts indulged by Ukrainian pro-democracy pursuits that he refused to do. Later the Russian government started controlling VKontakte, on which, Durov fled the country after selling his stake. Later, he co-founded Telegram with Nikolai.
The encrypted app, which has nearly 1 billion users, holds significant influence in Ukraine, Russia, and the post-Soviet states. It is considered one of the major platforms of social media, alongside Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and WeChat.
While expressing thoughts on Durov’s pursuance by the police, X owner Elon Musk stated on his handle “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme.”
Confirming the arrest of Durov, France President Emmanuel Macron wrote on his X handle “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.”
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 WhatsApp Channel now! 👈📲
𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆𝐬 👉 Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram
