The bosses of the world’s biggest social media companies have typically avoided personal repercussions, even when their platforms have faced scrutiny over their duties to their billions of users.
Social media companies including Facebook, X and TikTok have repeatedly come under fire from policymakers for failing to sufficiently tackle the spread of misinformation, but their founders have maintained their distance from content published by users on the platforms.
In a rare instance of personal accountability earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg, who runs the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, apologised to families who said their children had been harmed by social media while testifying in a hearing at the United States Senate.
But the pursuit of Pavel Durov by French authorities, the co-founder of the Telegram messaging app, sets a new precedent.
Durov, 39, was born in Russia but became a French citizen in 2021.
He co-founded Telegram with his brother, Nikolai Durov, in 2013.
The app, which has nearly a billion users across the world, is known for its privacy, promising encrypted messaging and the protection of users’ messages from third party access.
For this reason, it is used by whistleblowers and others who are under threat, but French lawmakers allege the other side of the coin is that the app allows organised criminal activity.
After four days in French custody, Durov now faces preliminary charges over allegations that he allowed criminal activity on Telegram, including illicit transactions, images of child abuse and drug trafficking. He is also being investigated for allegedly refusing to share information and documents with investigators.
Representatives for Telegram have said the company abides by EU laws and its moderation is in line with industry standards.
The company added in a statement:…
