JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Billionaire Pavel Durov, the CEO of the messaging platform Telegram, was arrested in France over the weekend. French authorities have been investigating whether Telegram has facilitated illegal activities, including drug trafficking and child sexual abuse. In the U.S., Durov is less well-known than Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk, but Telegram is one of the largest messaging apps in the world. It has nearly a billion users across the globe. We're joined now by reporter Rebecca Rosman in London. And, Rebecca, I just want to start with Pavel Durov. What can you tell us about him?
REBECCA ROSMAN, BYLINE: He's a 39-year-old tech billionaire who has been called the Russian Mark Zuckerberg. He currently lives in Dubai, which is where Telegram is now based. But he was born in the then-Soviet Union and made his first billions creating VK, which is Russia's answer to Facebook, with his brother. The Kremlin took over the social networking site in 2014, shortly after the Maidan revolution in Ukraine and Russia's annexation in Crimea. Today, he's a dual citizen of the United Arab Emirates and France. He got his French passport in 2021 through a special scheme for high-profile foreigners. And I should say he's really someone who has branded himself as a protector of freedom of speech, including opposition figures in Russia and in Ukraine.
SUMMERS: Right. OK. So, Rebecca, what can you tell us about his arrest?
ROSMAN: So we know that Durov was arrested late Saturday shortly after his private jet landed at Le Bourget Airport, which is just outside of Paris. And then for days, there were pretty much just reports coming from unnamed sources about the arrest, which only added to all the mystery here. Today the Paris prosecutor finally said Durov was being detained as part of an investigation that was opened in July that was looking into the app's moderation or lack thereof, of alleged criminal activity on the platform. The actual arrest warrant was issued by the French police agency that fights violence against minors. And as you mentioned, the criminal activity includes things like the spread of drug trafficking, money laundering and child sexual abuse images. Under French law, Durov can legally be detained now for up to 96 hours, which in this case means until Wednesday. By then, French authorities will have to make a decision about whether or not to press charges.
SUMMERS: At this point, what have we heard either from Durov or from the company Telegram?
ROSMAN: Telegram put out a short post on Sunday saying that Durov had, quote, "nothing to hide" and that the company abides by EU laws. The post also said that it was, quote, "absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse on that platform" and that it was waiting for a prompt resolution to all this.
SUMMERS: I mean, all of this seems to have prompted a broader debate about free speech. What have you been hearing? What have people been saying about it?
ROSMAN: Well, a number of well-known individuals have spoken out against this arrest. You have people like Elon Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, who posted the hashtag #FreePavel on his platform, X. Tucker Carlson, who interviewed Durov this past spring, also slammed the French government on X, saying, quote, "darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world." And then you have some of the highest levels of government who have spoken out. Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, suggested on Telegram that Durov was being persecuted because he was Russian. That appeared to have prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to write on X that Durov's arrest was not politically motivated and that it was up to the judges to decide. But I have to say this would appear to be the harshest action any government has taken against a social media chief to date.
SUMMERS: That's reporter Rebecca Rosman in London. Rebecca, thank you.
ROSMAN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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