Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, was arrested in Paris over the weekend on allegations that his platform is being used for illegal activities, including drug trafficking and distributing images of child sexual abuse.
The 39-year-old Durov, born in Russia, was detained on Saturday at Paris-Le Bourget Airport in France. His detention is linked to a judicial inquiry launched last month, which involves 12 alleged criminal violations related to his popular messaging app.
Though born in Russia, Durov spent much of his childhood in Italy and is a citizen of the UAE, France, Russia, and the Caribbean island nation of St Kitts and Nevis.
In his first public statement regarding the arrest, French President Emmanuel Macron clarified on Monday that it was not a political maneuver but rather part of an independent investigation.
Posting on social media, Macron said that France “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
Why is Telegram prone to misuse?
Telegram is a messaging app that supports one-on-one conversations, group chats, and channels for broadcasting messages to subscribers. Unlike competitors like Meta's WhatsApp, which limits group chats to 1,024 participants, Telegram allows up to 2,00,000 people in a single group. This large capacity raises concerns about the rapid spread of misinformation.
While Telegram provides encryption for communications, it is not enabled by default. Users must manually activate chat encryption, and this feature does not extend to group chats. In contrast, competing apps like Signal and Facebook Messenger offer end-to-end encryption by default.
Telegram, founded in 2013 by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai, operates with Pavel providing financial and ideological support, while Nikolai contributes on the technological front, according to the company.
According to a recent analysis by Kaspersky, a significant increase in cybercriminal activity on Telegram has been registered, with a 53 per cent rise in illicit posts observed from May to June 2024 compared to the same period last year.
Citing reasons behind this growth, Alexey Bannikov, analyst at Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence had said, "Telegram is marketed as the most secure and independent messenger that does not collect any user data, giving threat actors a sense of security and impunity. Moreover, finding or creating a community on Telegram is relatively easy, which, combined with other factors, allows various channels, including cybercriminal ones, to gather an audience quickly.”
Western governments have frequently criticised Telegram for its insufficient content moderation, which experts argue makes the platform susceptible to misuse for money laundering, drug trafficking, and the distribution of material related to the sexual exploitation of minors.
In 2022, Germany imposed fines totaling 5.12 million euros on Telegram’s operators for non-compliance with German regulations. The Federal Office of Justice highlighted that Telegram had not set up a lawful system for reporting illegal content or designated a German entity to handle official communications.
Additionally, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram last year due to its failure to provide data on neo-Nazi activities connected to a police investigation into school shootings in November.
In a statement posted on its platform after Durov's arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws, and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving”.
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post read. It added that the company awaits a prompt resolution of the situation.
Is Telegram becoming India's new dark web?
Telegram has also been under scrutiny in India due to its role as a hub for various criminal activities. The platform has increasingly become an epicenter for illegal activities, from distributing leaked exam papers and child pornography to manipulating stock prices and extortion, leading to comparisons with the dark web.
An undercover investigation by Decode revealed a thriving trade of CSAM (Child Sex Abuse Material) on Telegram, with sellers offering thousands of videos and "child rape combo packages". The platform served as a hotspot for distributing CSAM, with content sold for as little as Rs 40.
Decode also found multiple channels and groups on Telegram that have shared links to porn videos with the name of the victim of the RG Kar Medical Hospital rape and murder case.
A week after the gruesome incident, a Telegram channel surfaced using the victim's name. The admin posted multiple links, claiming to share 'leaked' photos and videos of the victim. The group has over 25,000 subscribers.
The platform's privacy features have also led to the proliferation of Telegram channels which aid illegal sports betting. Despite gambling being banned in India, these activities persist, owing to the platform's end-to-end encryption and self-destructing messages features.
Speaking to Decode, police officials had highlighted that user onboarding on Telegram can be done using virtual or temporary numbers without further verification or KYC of the mobile number. Additionally, a single account can be used on multiple devices without restriction, reducing the risk of being tracked by authorities.
In addition to facilitating illicit activities, the platform's loopholes have been exploited, leading to significant repercussions felt across the nation.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently uncovered a stock-price manipulation scheme operating through Telegram. The admin of a Telegram group was charged with accepting a Rs 20 lakh commission from individuals associated with a listed steel sheet manufacturing company.
Reportedly, the UGC-NET exam paper leaks was also aided via Telegram. Addressing the issue, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, had said, "All these activities took place on Telegram these days. It is a challenge to track the complex nature of Telegram without a high level investigation.”
Complaints had also surfaced alleging that NEET-UG applicants received copies of the medical entrance exam questions a day before the test on Telegram, sparking one of the country’s most significant exam controversies. The paper leak had led to widespread protests, a federal investigation, and ultimately required intervention by the Supreme Court.