https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/25/tech ... rance.html
Pavel Durov, the founder of the app, which has more than 900 million users, was taken into custody by the French authorities, the French news media reported.Many were shocked when reports emerged on Saturday that Mr. Durov had been arrested in France on charges related to the spread of illicit material on the service. As word spread online, his reported detention became a flashpoint in a continuing debate about free speech on the internet.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, which has adopted a similarly hands-off approach to content moderation, posted “#FreePavel” on his X account. “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he also said.Leonid Volkov, formerly a top adviser to Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in prison last year, wrote on Telegram that although the platform had become a useful tool for criminals, Mr. Durov should be released. “Durov is not an ‘accomplice’ to the crimes committed by Telegram users,” he said.
The reaction over the news of the arrest showed how concerns about free expression, censorship and government oversight of online content are rising at a time when regulatory scrutiny of speech on the internet around the world has ramped up. National governments, especially those in the European Union, have intensified pressure on companies to address disinformation, online extremism, child safety and the spread of illicit material.
Telegram has long been on the radar of law enforcement agencies around the world because terrorist organizations, drug sellers, weapons dealers and far-right extremist groups have used it for communicating, recruiting and organizing.
There is no fight for freedom going on in Ukraine as there is none in Western Europe.
Pavel Durov, the founder of the app, which has more than 900 million users, was taken into custody by the French authorities, the French news media reported.Many were shocked when reports emerged on Saturday that Mr. Durov had been arrested in France on charges related to the spread of illicit material on the service. As word spread online, his reported detention became a flashpoint in a continuing debate about free speech on the internet.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, which has adopted a similarly hands-off approach to content moderation, posted “#FreePavel” on his X account. “It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he also said.Leonid Volkov, formerly a top adviser to Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in prison last year, wrote on Telegram that although the platform had become a useful tool for criminals, Mr. Durov should be released. “Durov is not an ‘accomplice’ to the crimes committed by Telegram users,” he said.
The reaction over the news of the arrest showed how concerns about free expression, censorship and government oversight of online content are rising at a time when regulatory scrutiny of speech on the internet around the world has ramped up. National governments, especially those in the European Union, have intensified pressure on companies to address disinformation, online extremism, child safety and the spread of illicit material.
Telegram has long been on the radar of law enforcement agencies around the world because terrorist organizations, drug sellers, weapons dealers and far-right extremist groups have used it for communicating, recruiting and organizing.
There is no fight for freedom going on in Ukraine as there is none in Western Europe.
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