While he was being held in France in August, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, made his first public comment. Durov was shocked by what happened and blamed the French government for going after him instead of the company. He said that Telegram has a legal agent in the country to deal with regulatory issues and asked why the police were needed.
Durov, who is French, made it clear that the company is dedicated to its goal of supporting free speech and opinion. He said again that Telegram was ready to leave markets that didn’t follow its values, saying, “We’re not doing this for money; we’re doing it to protect basic human rights, especially when those rights are in danger.”
Even though he is being charged, Durov is still limited in France. He is not allowed to leave the country and has to check in with police every week. He didn’t like how the law was applied because it used old laws to hold him responsible for what other people did on Telegram’s site.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Durov’s arrest had nothing to do with politics, but the case has caused a lot of debate around the world, and leaders in the tech industry are worried about free speech in France. Some people aren’t sure if the country is still a safe place for tech founders who want to protect digital rights after the arrest.
