Paris prosecutor's office charges Pavel Durov with 12 counts for failing to censor information circulating on Telegram

French judicial authorities have detailed the reasons why they arrested Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, at Le Bourget airport, located in northeastern Paris. Specifically, he is being investigated for 12 different crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and organized crime, among others. He is not accused of committing them directly, but as the platform's CEO, he allegedly did not prevent these acts from occurring on the social network.

In a statement reported by French outlet Libération, the Paris prosecutor's office reported that Durov's provisional imprisonment stems from "a judicial inquiry opened on July 8 against an anonymous person following a preliminary investigation at the initiative of the J3 section [fight against cybercrime - JUNALCO]."

In addition, the prosecutor's office assured that Durov has been unwilling to provide "the necessary information or documents" for the investigation to continue its course. In other words, he obstructed justice.

Macron: Not a politically motivated arrest

French President Emmanuel Macron denied all reports that Durov's arrest was politically motivated: "The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter."

"France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so," the French president said.

France is not the first country to focus its sights on Telegram. In 2018, Russia began censoring the platform, as the Kremlin was prevented from accessing Telegram users' encrypted messages despite having a court order.