Telegram CEO Pavel Durov arrested at French airport: reports

CBS News reported that he is scheduled to appear in court on Sunday.

Durov’s arrest comes amid growing international pressure on social media platforms to moderate content on their sites and apps. The European Union, of which France is a key member, recently implemented the Digital Services Act, which requires big tech companies to strictly moderate illegal content on their platforms or face hefty fines. Telegram has faced intense scrutiny from the EU this year over its moderation practices as the platform has grown to 41 million EU users — just short of the 45 million that would require the platform to comply with DSA rules.

Telegram is a particularly influential social media platform in Ukraine and Russia and has become a primary source of information about the war between the two countries. The site has been repeatedly criticized for hosting graphic and misleading content about the war between Russia and Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas. However, Telegram rarely shuts down channels without a request from law enforcement or regulatory agencies.

Russian-born Durov left the country in 2014 after refusing to comply with Kremlin orders to shut down the accounts of opposition groups on a separate social media platform he founded, VKontakte, according to Reuters. That year, Durov sold his stake in VKontakte.

“I’d rather be free than take orders from anyone,” Durov told Tucker Carlson in April about his decision to leave Russia.

Telegram representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.