Find the new article by Christine DUGOIN-CLÉMENT, Affiliate Professor at the Sorbonne Business School.
On August 24, Pavel Durov was arrested while his private jet was making a stop at Le Bourget. The French authorities explain this decision by the Telegram CEO's refusal to cooperate, particularly in investigations into criminal actions (drug trafficking, swindling or even pedocriminality) whose perpetrators had allegedly used his messaging service to perpetrate them.
In fact, while Telegram is widely used to communicate between individuals or on channels - which are often regarded by their subscribers as sources of information - it is also a major marketplace, including for criminal circles.
A long history of non-cooperation with the authoritiesWhile Pavel Durov is best known for his role at Telegram, his adventure began much earlier, notably with the creation of the Russian-language social network VKontakte in 2006. Social networks, including VKontakte, were heavily mobilized during the massive protests of 2011 and 2012, which challenged the outcome of the December 2011 parliamentary elections. The Russian authorities asked VKontakte to cooperate, but Durov did not, refusing in particular to close Alexeï Navalny's account. [...]