(Al Jazeera Media Network) Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has criticized French authorities for pursuing “misguided” criminal charges against him instead of approaching his company with their concerns in his first public comments since his arrest.
In a post on Telegram on Thursday, Durov said it was “surprising” to learn that he could be held personally responsible for illegal activities carried out by other people on his social media-cum-messaging platform.
“If a country is unhappy with an internet service, the established practice is to start a legal action against the service itself,” the Russian-born tech entrepreneur wrote.
“Using laws from the pre-smartphone era to charge a CEO with crimes committed by third parties on the platform he manages is a misguided approach.”
Durov said Telegram has an official representative in the European Union who uses a publicly available email address and that French authorities had “numerous ways” to reach him personally.
France’s handling of the case risks stifling innovation in tech, he said.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/9/6/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-hits-out-at-misguided-arrest
