[VIDÉO] Selon nos informations, le fondateur et PDG de la messagerie sécurisée Telegram a été interpellé ce samedi soir à l'aéroport du Bourget. Pavel Durov, franco-russe de 39 ans, était accompagné de son garde du corps et d'une femme. - INFO TF1/LCI : le fondateur et PDG de la messagerie Telegram ...
Since the post article is in French, here's an auto-translation:
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, was arrested around 8 p.m. on Saturday evening as he got off his private jet on the tarmac of Le Bourget airport. The 39-year-old Franco-Russian was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman.
The arrest was carried out by the gendarmes of the GTA (Air Transport Gendarmerie). Registered in the RPF (wanted persons file), Pavel Durov came straight from Azerbaijan. He had over his head a French search warrant issued by the OFMIN of the National Directorate of the French Judicial Police, issued on the basis of a preliminary investigation.
Why was he under threat of a search warrant?
The Justice considers that the lack of moderation, cooperation with the police and the tools offered by Telegram (disposable number, cryptocurrencies, etc.) makes it complicit in drug trafficking, paedophile offences and fraud.
This search warrant ran if, and only if, Pavel Durov was on national territory. "He made a mistake tonight. We don't know why... Was this flight just a step? In any case, he's locked up!" a source close to the investigation told TF1/LCI. Since he knew he was persona non grata in France, Pavel Durov used to travel to the Emirates, the countries of the former USSR, South America... He travelled very little in Europe and avoided countries where Telegram is under surveillance.
And now?
Investigators from the ONAF (National Anti-Fraud Office attached to the Customs Directorate) notified him and placed him in police custody. He is expected to be presented to an investigating judge this Saturday evening before a possible indictment on Sunday for a multitude of offences: terrorism, drugs, complicity, fraud, money laundering, concealment, paedophile content...
"Pavel Durov will end up in pre-trial detention, that's for sure," comments an investigator to TF1/LCI. "On his platform, he allowed an incalculable number of misdemeanours and crimes to be committed for which he does nothing to moderate or cooperate," said a source close to the case.
His pre-trial detention at the end of his indictment is indeed in no doubt. Pavel Durov, a billionaire, has substantial means to flee and his guarantees of representation will hardly convince the judges.
A net with international resonance
For the investigators, this international sweep has various objectives. First, it makes it possible to kick the anthill, impress and deter the perpetrators of crimes and offences who exchange, until now, freely on Telegram. Secondly, they aim to put pressure on European countries to step up joint work to make secure messaging on terrorist cases bend.
Indeed, Telegram is a hive of criminal content. At the moment, the platform is in the news with the illegal broadcasting of Ligue 1 matches. But on this encrypted messaging service, many accounts are used by organized crime. Beyond terrorism, the most dangerous pedophiles communicate on Telegram to exchange content. "It has become for years THE number 1 platform for organized crime," comments an investigator.
How so? Telegram isn't a great choice if you're looking for privacy: E2EE is disabled in 1-on-1 chats by default in Telegram, so it's technically possible for Telegram employees to read majority of messages sent on their platform. Group chats and channels have no E2EE at all.
Stamp out the state ! Trigger the nuclear holocaust !
Here are the trigger buttons
Satellite[1] COSPAR international designator NORAD catalog # Orbit Launch Date End Date Estimated Operational Life
Kosmos 2510 (EKS 1) (Tundra 11L) 2015-066A 41032 Molniya[27] 38552 x 1626 km, 63.37° 17 November 2015 Active
Kosmos 2518 (EKS 2) (Tundra 12L) 2017-027A 42719 Molniya[28] 38552 x 1626 km, 63.37° 25 May 2017 Active[29]
Kosmos 2541 (EKS 3) (Tundra 13L) 2019-065A 44552 Molniya[30] 38537 x 1646 km, 63.83° 26 September 2019 Active
Kosmos 2546 (EKS 4) (Tundra 14L) 2020-031A 45608 Molniya[25] 35807 x 1654 km, 63.83° 22 May 2020 Active
Kosmos 2552 (EKS 5) (Tundra 15L) 2021-113A 49503 Molniya[31] 38761 x 1609 km, 63.83° 25 November 2021 Active
Kosmos 2563 (EKS 6) (Tundra 16L) 2022-145A 54223 Molniya[6] 38753 x 1596 km, 63.82° 2 November 2022 Active
No economy = no state
We gave it a chance and yet again it shits the bed
Better live in rubble than in a factory farm as the farmed animal, forever (see 15 million merits)
Well, he caused this himself in the end, he failed to deliver on the part of secure and private messaging because default chats are insecure and secret chats are a buggy joke. If he delivered in the promise of providing a real secure and private messenger and did real effort to fight against spam, then things mind have turned out differently. Decentralization should also have been part of it.