Emmanuel Macron Facing Backlash Over The Arrest Of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov By French Authorities

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August 26, 2024

Days after French authorities detained Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, President Emmanuel denied that there was any political motive behind the arrest, and claimed that France remains deeply committed to free speech -- a claim that drew swift condemnations and mockery on social media, with many pointing to the 'kitchen sink' of allegations by prosecutors against Durov for refusing to censor users of Telegram.

"I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov," Macron wrote on X, Monday. "France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so. In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights. It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law. 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."

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau has revealed in a statement that Durov was arrested as part of a probe into an unnamed person launched by the office's cybercrime unit on July 8.

The investigation is over suspected complicity in various crimes including running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as the refusal to communicate information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals, the statement said. In other words, Durov is being investigated for crimes others may have engaged in using his messaging app.

Critics slam French authorities' hypocrisy pointing out that Mark Zuckerberg's Meta platforms including Instagram and Whatsapp have in several instances, been exposed as hosting such prohibited content. Legal experts argue that it's absurd to arrest a platform owner in the manner that Durov was, over the actions of users of the platform.

Chris Pavlovski, CEO of YouTube rival Rumble, also called out Macron's claim that he's committed to upholding the principles of free speech.

"When you say you are committed to freedom of expression, you are lying," Pavlovski wrote on X. "We have a letter from France that proves this, without a doubt. We had to shutdown Rumble in France because you have NO committment to freedom of expression. When you say you are committed to freedom of expression, you are lying. We have a letter from France that proves this, without a doubt. ...We had to shutdown Rumble in France because you have NO commitment to freedom of expression."

Durov, who was arrested over the weekend, can be held in custody until Wednesday, according to prosecutors.

The arrest comes as left-wing leaders in the west are ramp up their crackdown on free speech online, following in the footsteps of authoritarian regimes in countries like North Korea and China.

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Left-wing politicians and bureaucrats have intensified their effort in recent years to censor content online and criminalize speech on social media platforms.

Zuckerberg admitted in a letter Monday, to the US House Judiciary Committee, that President Joe Biden administration "pressured" Facebook to censor Americans; and that the platform throttled the explosive Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election campaign season. He had expressed his regrets for colluding with the FBI.

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