A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
French law enforcement have arrested the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram. French media is reporting that the tech executive, Pavel Durov, is being investigated for refusing to cooperate with law enforcement. Authorities have been probing Telegram for potentially facilitating illegal activities, such as drug trafficking and child pornography. NPR tech correspondent Bobby Allyn joins us now to discuss. So Bobby, let's start with - what is Telegram?
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: Yeah, Telegram is one of the largest messaging apps in the world. It has more than 900 million users. It was launched back in 2013, and it competes with WhatsApp, WeChat, Signal, and it's special in some ways, right? There are these massive group chats on Telegram you can join around sports like cricket, investing - you know, especially cryptocurrencies - and lots of political groups. And some of these groups, and they're known as channels on the platform, you know, have hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Chats are encrypted, and there's virtually no rules on the platform. Here's CEO Durov describing Telegram's hands-off approach to content to Tucker Carlson earlier this year.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE TUCKER CARLSON SHOW")
PAVEL DUROV: We think it's important to have this platform that is neutral to all voices, because we believe that the competition of different ideas can result in progress and a better world for everyone.
ALLYN: And, you know, A, Telegram has become a go-to source of unfiltered photos and videos of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Now, so why was Durov arrested?
ALLYN: Yeah, well, it's worth starting with some history. Telegram has been on the radar of authorities around the world for some time. The app has been used as a recruiting tool for terrorist organizations for many years. It's been linked to drug peddling and the spread of child pornography. French media is reporting that Durov has refused to cooperate with investigations into some of this illicit activity, and reports indicate that, you know, he was arrested shortly after getting off his private jet at an airport just north of Paris. And his arrest really stunned the whole tech world. You know, details in the arrest warrant still have not come out. I did speak with an official in Paris' prosecutor's office, and they told me that more information will be coming out today.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, what do we know about Pavel Durov?
ALLYN: Yeah, he was once known as Russia's Mark Zuckerberg, because he founded a service very similar to Facebook when he was in Russia, but the Kremlin got involved in the app, and he fled the country. He is now based in Dubai. He was, of course, born in Russia, but is a dual citizen of the United Arab Emirates and France, and he's kind of this tech billionaire renegade. He's a free-speech absolutist, and he has long rejected calls for any kind of guardrails on Telegram. He rarely gives interviews, and he's often pictured wearing either all black or posing on social media in infinity pools. That seems to be his thing.
MARTÍNEZ: OK What's the reaction been to his arrest?
ALLYN: Yeah, well, Elon Musk has been rallying around him, and musing on X if it's safe for him, Elon Musk, to travel to Europe now. But others are saying, hey, this isn't about free speech, because what this really seems like it is about is Durov allegedly obstructing an investigation. No matter how you see it, though, A, it's quite historic to have a tech CEO arrested over content that appears on a social media app. Telegram put out a statement saying it is absurd to blame Durov for those who abuse Telegram, saying he has nothing to hide, and that Telegram abides by EU laws.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Bobby Allyn. Bobby, thanks.
ALLYN: Thanks, A.
(SOUNDBITE OF AGST'S "WIRED") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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