French President Emmanuel Macron said the arrest of Russian-born Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was part of an ongoing judicial investigation rather than a political move after the French action triggered a heated debate about free speech and protests from Russia.
The first French official confirmation on Monday came two days after the 39-year-old Durov was detained on Saturday night after his private jet landed at Paris-Le Bourget Airport.
French authorities extended Durov's detention on Sunday for allegedly not curbing offenses such as fraud, sexual exploitation, crimes against minors, drug trafficking, organized crime and promotion of terrorism on the Telegram messaging platform, French media reported.
The billionaire, who holds multiple citizenships, including from France, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, could be detained up to a maximum of 96 hours for questioning and then the judge can decide to press charges or set him free.
Telegram said in a statement on Sunday that its CEO "has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe".
It said Telegram "abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, or DSA — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving". The DSA is a regulation adopted in the European Union in 2022 to address illegal content, transparent advertising and disinformation.
"It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform," the statement said.
Durov backed
Russia has come to Durov's defense by criticizing France for free speech double standards and said Durov should be accorded his rights. The Russian embassy in Paris said it had demanded access to Durov but "the French side is refusing to cooperate".
Telegram is popular among Russian speakers.
On her personal Telegram account, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said 26 NGOs "condemned the Russian court's decision to block Telegram" in 2018.
"Do you think this time they'll appeal to Paris and demand Durov's release?" she asked.
Macron, who faces domestic political chaos following his party's defeat in the July parliamentary election, said France is "deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication", but such freedoms are "upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life".
Macron has been a user of Telegram since the early days of his 2017 presidential campaign. The encrypted messaging app is popular among his supporters.
The European Commission has distanced itself from the case with a spokesperson telling the media on Monday that Durov's arrest on suspicion of allowing criminal activity on his platform has nothing to do with Telegram's obligations under the DSA.
Telegram has more than 900 million active monthly users globally, but its claim in February of 41 million monthly average users in the EU means it has not passed the 45 million threshold for a Very Large Online Platform under DSA and is subject to the strictest transparency rules.
Ron Paul, former US Congressman from Texas, said on Monday that the arrest is "a huge blow to free speech across the globe".
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