The Patriot Post® · France Arrests Big Tech Free Speech Advocate

Over the weekend, French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, the co-creator and CEO of the popular social media platform Telegram. Durov, who holds dual citizenship in France and Russia, had just arrived in Paris on a flight from Azerbaijan. According to reports from the French media, Durov’s arrest was in connection to allegations that his social media platform was being used for illegal activities, including money laundering, drug trafficking, and the sharing of child sexual abuse content.

However, others, such as X owner Elon Musk, believe the real motivation behind Durov’s arrest has everything to do with the censorship desires of certain Western governments. Following news of Durov’s arrest, Musk posted a video clip with the title #FreePavel taken from an April interview with Tucker Carlson, wherein Durov talked about how the U.S. government cybersecurity agents sought to gain backdoor access to Telegram’s servers.

Included in his post, Musk, alluding to Pavel’s arrest, wrote, “Check out this ad for First Amendment. It’s very convincing.”

Musk also called out fellow Big Tech entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg in response to someone questioning why Zuckerberg had not been arrested: “Because,” Musk said, “he already caved into censorship pressure. Instagram has a massive child exploitation problem, but no arrest for Zuck, as he censors free speech and gives governments backdoor access to user data.”

It would appear that Musk has a valid point. Furthermore, in 2014, the year after Durov created Telegram with this brother, he had to flee Russia due to his refusal to hand over encrypted user data to Russian officials or censor the speech of opposition political parties on Telegram. It wasn’t until 2018 that Russia finally backed down on its efforts to control and censor Telegram.

During that time, Western nations like France heralded Durov for his commitment to defending free speech against tyrannical government. Now, with Durov sitting in a Parisian jail, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova observed, “In 2018, a group of 26 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and others, condemned the Russian court’s decision to block Telegram.” She then asked, “Do you think this time they’ll appeal to Paris and demand Durov’s release?”

The crux of the issue is the growing illiberal desire by Western European nations to enforce speech control over social media platforms. Durov, having committed himself to free speech, has continuously rebuffed efforts to enact and implement increasing draconian content moderation obligations on social media platforms.

It is quite the apparent turnabout that Moscow is now calling on Paris to uphold and “ensure the protection of [Durov’s] rights.” This would presumably include his free speech rights.

The 39-year-old Durov is estimated to be worth $15.5 billion. He successfully opposed Vladimir Putin’s Russia, eventually getting Moscow to back down. Given this history, there is no reason to believe that he will now cower before the French government.