Why was Telegram's Founder Pavel Durov Arrested?
He was arrested for alleged crimes linked to Telegram.
Founder of the social media platform Telegram, Pavel Dorov was arrested at Le Bouget Airport in France on Saturday, Aug. 24.
The Russian-born billionaire has citizenship in France and the UAE. Durov is facing criminal charges in France over alleged criminal activities linked to Telegram, which include drug trafficking, fraud, cyberbullying, and promoting terrorism.
An arrest warrant was issued for Durov for alleged lack of content moderation on Telegram, which authorities claim has led to the rise of criminal activities on the platform.
Durov rose to fame when he launched VKontakte, which outpaced Facebook. He left Russia in 2014 because of government pressure to shut down opposition communities on his platform.
He had stints in Berlin, London, Singapore, and San Francisco before he relocated to Dubai in 2017. Durov launched Telegram from Dubai.
Telegram is known for its strong encryption and stance against censorship, become globally popular, despite facing criticism for allegedly allowing room for extreme content.
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