France’s arrest of tech prodigy spotlights messaging service that shelters those who want to avoid government attention.
Telegram has grown over the past decade to rival Meta Platforms' WhatsApp messaging service. | Buda Mendes/Getty Images
August 26, 2024 8:08 pm CET
By Pieter Haeck
BRUSSELS — You thought Elon Musk and X were a problem?
The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov spotlights a messaging platform that is an even bigger headache for European governments than the app formerly known as Twitter.
Telegram's claims that users' privacy was sacrosanct and that chats weren't visible to governments or even to Telegram itself have attracted cybercriminals, pedophiles and terrorists even as the company described itself as a haven for "pro-democracy movements around the world."
Unlike tech billionaire Musk, who waged public spats over the EU's push to police online content, Telegram and Durov have previously managed to stay under the radar as policymakers tried to crack down on illegal content or behavior on the app.
"It's hard to get in touch with Telegram and make arrangements," a Dutch minister explained in January when grilled by local lawmakers on a media report about illegal drugs offered via public Telegram chats.
But thanks to one high-profile, late-night arrest at a Paris airport, Telegram now faces the harsh glare of the regulatory, political and judicial spotlight.
Going mainstream
Initially a fringe platform, Telegram has grown over the past decade to rival Meta Platforms' WhatsApp messaging service.
Durov founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai, building on their success in launching Russia's answer to Facebook, VKontakte, in 2006. Keeping its customers' secrets was a key part of Telegram's appeal, making it an attractive app for anyone wanting to avoid government scrutiny.
"Telegram has historically had problems with regulators in some parts of the world because, unlike other services, we consistently defended our users' privacy and have never made any deals with governments," Durov wrote in 2017, having fled Russia years earlier after refusing to shut down opposition groups on VKontakte.
His app boomed, surging to 900 million users globally and becoming an essential communications tool in closely watched conflicts, such as Russia's war on Ukraine, where both sides use it.
The platform is Dubai-based, and Durov has dual citizenship in France and the United Arab Emirates. Press requests are handled by an automated bot on Telegram's platform. The company has no known Brussels presence and isn't registered in the European Union's transparency register.
That has allowed Telegram to avoid several EU efforts to curb online misconduct.
The EU didn't manage to enlist Telegram for its voluntary code of practice on disinformation, for example, which was launched in 2018 and revised in 2022. Major players like Google, Meta and TikTok signed the pledge, but Telegram held out.
That changed in February when the EU finally managed to connect with Telegram as the Digital Services Act (DSA) forced the platform to obey various requirements.
"This includes removing illegal content, cooperating with national authorities, [and] respecting removal orders when national authorities make such orders," European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told POLITICO.
Telegram has been engaging with EU officials, he said.
"We have exchanges with the platform, with all the platforms, including Telegram. When we ask something [of] Telegram, we get a reply," he said.
Range of criminal acts
But as Saturday's arrest shows, European governments are still figuring out how to handle Telegram.
The French prosecutor's office said it was looking into possible cybercrime, alleging Telegram was complicit in a range of criminal acts such as possession of child pornography, drug trafficking and organized fraud.
This is a separate line of attack from EU content moderation enforcement, where Belgium's telecoms watchdog would be in charge of monitoring Telegram's EU base in Brussels.
The European Commission only supervises the largest platforms that have more than 45 million users; Telegram claims it has fewer than that in the EU.
The Belgian authority told POLITICO it wasn't involved in the French criminal investigation and hadn't been informed of any failure by Telegram to remove illegal content. The Commission said the arrest wasn't related to the DSA.
Musk was quick to turn Durov's arrest into a free-speech battle, however: "#FreePavel," he posted on X.
Océane Herrero contributed reporting from Paris.
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