Pavel Durov, founder and chief govt of the favored messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France on Saturday, in accordance with French tv community TF1.
Durov is believed to have been apprehended pursuant to a warrant issued in reference to a preliminary police investigation.
TF1 stated the probe was centered on a scarcity of content material moderation on the moment messaging service, which the authorities took difficulty with, turning the app right into a haven for varied sorts of prison exercise, together with drug trafficking, youngster pornography, cash laundering, and fraud.
The hands-off strategy to moderation on Telegram has been a level of competition, fueling cybercrime and turning the platform right into a hub for menace actors to prepare their operations, distribute malware, and peddle stolen knowledge and different unlawful items
“This messaging app has remodeled right into a bustling hub the place seasoned cybercriminals and newcomers alike change illicit instruments and insights making a darkish and well-oiled provide chain of instruments and victims’ knowledge,” Guardio Labs stated in a report earlier this yr.
Headquartered in Dubai, Telegram has over 950 million month-to-month energetic customers as of July 2024. It not too long ago launched an in-app browser and a Mini App Retailer, successfully turning it into a brilliant app, mirroring Tencent’s WeChat.
(This can be a growing story. Please examine again for extra updates.)