Telegram is going to face a reversal in Europe
The case of Durov in France: prosecutors and the European commission probe the case of alleged e-commerce activity taking place on Telegram
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Monday that Durov’s detention is “in no way a political decision.” It is up to the judiciary to enforce the law, he said. The European Commission confirms to WIRED that the arrest was conducted under French criminal law and that it did not involve new European regulation for tech platforms. The spokesman says they are watching the situation and are ready to work with the French authorities.
After Durov’s private jet arrived at the airport near Paris, he was arrested. He was then detained for four days as part of an investigation into alleged criminal activity taking place on Telegram. On Wednesday evening, local time, he was indicted and forbidden from leaving the country, according to a statement released by the Paris Prosecutor. He was released under judicial supervision, the statement said, and must post a €5 million ($5.5 million) bail and report to a police station in France twice a week.
The case against social media companies: the case of Telegram and JUNALCO, an agency that investigates the criminal liability of its executives
The French authorities noted a lack of response from Telegram. She said that JUNALCO had opened an investigation into the possible criminal liability of the messaging service’s executives. The OFMIN, an agency that was set up to prevent violence against teenagers, coordinated the initial investigations after the preliminary investigation began.
“This is what led JUNALCO [the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime] to open an investigation,” she said. Durov is forbidden from leaving the country, and must report to a police station twice a week.
Durov is the first high-profile victim of a shift in mindset from officials, who are losing patience with the platforms they consider to be roiling domestic politics or fueling crime. “Durov’s arrest comes at a particularly volatile time for online platforms and their users,” Evelyn Austin, director of Dutch digital rights foundation Bits of Freedom, said in a statement.
This is bigger than Telegram. The fines for Big Tech in Europe reach into the billions of dollars. Opponents of new laws say they threaten encryption. The idea that social media platforms are responsible for their users criminal actions is growing. Two-thirds of people in the UK agree that companies should be blamed for hosting content that leads to riots and the same number believe the sites aren’t regulated enough. Politicians and judges are increasingly asking to suspend access to a range of social media sites during periods of unrest, in places like France, where riots broke out last year after police violence.
