France charges Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, releases him on €5 million bail – POLITICO

The high-profile arrest of one of the world's most powerful tech entrepreneurs has embroiled the governments in Paris, Moscow and Abu Dhabi in a diplomatic turmoil. The arrest also sparked a fierce debate about free speech online and the regulation of technology.

Durov was also charged with “complicity in the crimes of providing, without legitimate reason, a program or data intended for the organized gang distribution of images of minors containing child pornography and drug trafficking.”

Telegram “appears in several cases involving various crimes (child sexual abuse, human trafficking, online hate),” prosecutors wrote, citing “Telegram's almost complete failure to respond to judicial requests.”

“Other French investigative authorities and public prosecutors, as well as various Eurojust partners, notably Belgian ones, shared the same observation after consultation,” it continued. “This led to the launch of an investigation into the possible criminal liability of the operators of this messaging service.”

A preliminary investigation was launched in February, the statement added. According to a French administrative document obtained exclusively by POLITICO, French authorities issued arrest warrants for Durov and his brother Nikolai in March.

“The only statement I would like to make is that Telegram is compliant in all aspects of European standards in digital matters. It is absurd to think that the head of a social network is being charged,” Durov's lawyer David-Olivier Kaminski said after the announcement.