Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested on August 24, 2024, at Le Bourget Airport in Paris after arriving from Azerbaijan. Reports say that his arrest is connected to an ongoing investigation into Telegram’s alleged role in facilitating criminal activities due to a lack of moderation on the platform.
Elon Musk Reacts to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov's Arrest
In a post, it was written, "Yes, Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested in Paris at Le Bourget Airport. He was detained upon exiting his private jet, which had arrived from Azerbaijan. This information is based on reports from various French media sources and posts on X, indicating that his arrest was related to an investigation concerning the lack of moderation on Telegram, which allegedly facilitated criminal activities."
Elon Musk, the CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), shared his thoughts on Durov’s arrest through a series of posts on his platform.
In one post, Musk shared a message with the caption, "Check out this ad for the First Amendment. It is very convincing."
Musk also expressed his belief that Pavel Durov (CEO of Telegram) deserves justice. He also responded to a post by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who also expressed his concern: "It's Telegram today. It'll be X tomorrow." Musk agreed with Ramaswamy and responded that he was right.
The owner of Tesla posted another tweet by resharing a post from another account called OSINTdefender. He captioned this post, "POV: It’s 2030 in Europe, and you’re being executed for liking a meme."
Who is Pavel Durov?
Pavel Durov, who was born in Russia, now lives in Dubai, where Telegram is based. He is a 39-year-old Russian-born entrepreneur with dual French and UAE citizenship. His wealth is estimated by Forbes to be £15.5 billion (£12 billion). Durov fled Russia in 2014 after refusing to shut down opposition groups on VK, a social media network he used to own.
Telegram released a statement defending Durov and the company. The statement said that Telegram follows all European Union laws, including the Digital Services Act. The company stressed that Durov has nothing to hide and often travels around Europe. Telegram also rejected accusations that it or Durov should be blamed for any illegal activity on the platform. They reaffirmed their support for user privacy and free speech.