Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was reportedly arrested by French authorities early this morning. He was detained at La Bourget Airport while traveling from Azerbaijan. The French authorities refused to confirm his arrest but some French media said Durov's arrest was carried out for several offenses committed in the Telegram application.
Among the French authorities' issues with Telegram is the lack of restrictions on content in the application. With over 900 million monthly active users, Telegram is one of the world's most popular messaging apps, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Although Durov is Russian, Telegram made Dubai its base of operations after the app was banned due to its refusal to provide data access to the Russian government. It became the application of choice for the dissemination of information about the Ukraine-Russia conflict by both sides.
Before establishing Telegram, he founded VKontakte (VK) which is a popular social media platform in Russia. He later resigned as CEO of VK also due to his refusal to cooperate with the Russian authorities to hand over data and delete the profile of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.