Pavel Durov’s journey has all the makings of a weak man turned billionaire story.
The 39-year-old entrepreneur founded two tech platforms: one became Russia’s answer to Facebook, the other a competitor to WhatsApp. No wonder he’s been called Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg.
His net worth is estimated at $15.5 billion, according to ForbesThe messaging app he founded, Telegram, is said to be Worth over $30 billion It is considering listing it on the stock exchange.
But Durov’s legacy as a tech hero is now in doubt. On Saturday, he was arrested in Paris in connection with an investigation into the alleged use of Telegram as a platform for criminal activity.
Little is known about Durov beyond glimpses of his life on social media, where he mostly dresses in black and is photographed in front of picturesque landscapes. However, when Durov does make rare media appearances, he often attracts attention. For example, he spoke to far-right talk show host Tucker Carlson about his views on social media in April, and said in July that he had received a lot of attention. He had over 100 children. Through sperm donation.
His arrest by French authorities has drawn reactions from the likes of Elon Musk, and sparked a broader conversation about issues plaguing the tech world, such as free speech and content moderation.
From the Soviet Union to Europe and Beyond
Durov was born in Russia, where he lived with his family until he was four years old. They then moved to Italy, where Durov had to adapt to a different language and culture. In an interview, he said: Carlson said His teachers told him he was doomed to fail, which fueled his competitive spirit and led him to excel as a student.
Durov and his family eventually returned to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, where he completed his education and founded VKontakte (now called “VK”), a Facebook-like platform, in 2006. It proved to be hugely successful and quickly became the country’s largest social networking site.
But eventually, the Kremlin began to interfere in the company’s management, demanding more control over the platform, causing Durov to leave VK and Russia in 2014.
A year before his escape, Durov, together with his brother Nikolai, created the Telegram app, making it uncensored and easily accessible to everyone.
After years of moving between Europe and Asia, the messaging site and Durov himself are now based in Dubai. Durov also holds citizenship in the United Arab Emirates, France and the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Telegram has gained a good or bad reputation, depending on who you ask. With a relatively small team of 50 or 100 employees, Full time The app has proven to be a crucial communication tool during the war between Russia and Ukraine. It offers features WhatsApp does not offer this feature, for example, its groups can accommodate up to 200,000 people, while WhatsApp only allows 1,000 people. It also offers encryption, allows the use of cryptocurrencies, and offers premium subscriptions.
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But some corners of Telegram have come under fire for allegedly enabling criminal activity ranging from child sexual exploitation to terrorism to disinformation. The platform has become less strict about moderating content, which is believed to be why illegal content is more widely available on Telegram.
“Given the large portion of activity on #Telegram that is not end-to-end encrypted, Pavel’s detention is clearly concerning, causing many Telegram users to question the privacy of what they have said in the past and who might be able to access it,” said John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. Written in a post On X.
Countries have recently pointed to these threats: On Tuesday, South Korea called for investigation To explicit sexual photos and videos of women circulating via Telegram chats. Brazil temporarily banned Telegram for refusing to share information about neo-Nazi groups with the country’s police authorities last yearUNESCO highlighted. In the investigation In 2022, about half of Holocaust-related posts on Telegram were found to either deny or distort the facts.
Durov said the Financial Times Earlier this year, Telegram announced that it would step up its moderation efforts using AI, but that it did not intend to monitor people “unless they cross red lines.” Following the arrest of its CEO, Telegram said His moderation “Conforms to industry standards and is constantly improving.”
What does Durov’s arrest mean for social media companies?
Telegram has largely been successful in fighting off accusations of facilitating illegal activity on its platform. Despite all that, Durov has insisted that he aims to protect freedom of expression on the messaging platform.
“Privacy, ultimately, is more important than our fear of bad things happening, like terrorism,” he wrote in 2015, according to the New York Times.
Meta has been embroiled in its own struggle for years over free speech, censorship and content moderation. Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has had his platform, X, under scrutiny. EU audit In relation to the modification of its content, it swooped in to support Durov after his arrest.
#Free Pavel
pic.twitter.com/B7AcJWswMs— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 25, 2024
It’s a tricky balance, but arresting tech platform CEOs may not be the best solution, said Kate Rowen, director of the Free Expression Project at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology. the Washington Post.
“Arresting platform executives for their alleged failure to adequately moderate content, even content as disturbing and harmful as content that harms children, puts us on a dangerous path that threatens free speech and gives the government too much power to suppress speech,” she said.
Telegram is approaching a billion users worldwide. While it’s unclear whether Durov’s arrest will change how the app operates, it certainly raises the stakes for how the app handles content shared on its platform by bad actors.
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