Pavel Durov (Telegram CEO and founder) arrested in France
Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained on arriving in France from Azerbaijan and facing 20 years in jail for refusing to censor his platform.
Durov was arrested as he got off his private jet on the tarmac at Le Bourget airport in Paris. BFMTV reports that the Telegram founder was put on a wanted list just minutes before landing in Paris, and an arrest warrant was issued.
Durov "will be presented to an investigating judge this Saturday evening before a possible indictment on Sunday for a multitude of offenses: terrorism, narcotics, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods, pedo criminal content," TF1 reports.
https://www.disclose.tv/id/3g19l7niyi/
From Russian state media, TACC
The arrest of Pavel Durov in France occurred at the request of the United States, believes the head of the Safe Internet League, Ekaterina Mizulina.
https://t.me/tass_agency/268275
I would not be surprised if it was related to political content on Telegram. There for sure is plenty of illegal stuff there (as is on literally every other online messenger/social media app), but France is known for being politically "on the other side" than many Telegram users and censoring political material which doesn't match overlord's desires. I'm sure same thing would happen in a country like Germany, they are all on the "same side" in terms of politics and how they deal with people who don't share their believes. How EU acts on "hate speech" (a dog whistle used to describe content that hurts their feelings) is no different from totalitarian regimes.
We'll see what comes out of it. Recently a big Telegram competitor, Signal, added usernames allowing it to be used sorta-"anonymously" like Telegram. So its worth considering as an alternative.
Comments
This.
Same as TikTok. None other country than America is allowed to have large and popular social apps / networks.
Otherwise there could be no freedom, democracy, and equality.
And Telegram is by far the best messenger app these days.
Another important note: some sources say Durov was put on a wanted list just a few minutes before the landing in Paris, and an arrest warrant was issued:
#FREEDUROV
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probably chipping away at WhatsApp market share.
if you noticed WA has lots of "new" features that seems like TG has always had.
I bench YABS 24/7/365 unless it's a leap year.
Note to self: Don't go to France
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But why??
“France is the best holiday destination”
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But you're already in the U.S., so what difference does it make? Which government do you think usually requests those arrests?
My comment was more of a joke than anything since France has been in the news a bit lately for their excessive reaching when it comes to policing content online like memes, comments or anything they deem offensive.
In any case, I haven''t been in the US since earlier this year.
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Is that good or bad?
Good. It's not for political or legal reasons or anything, haha. I don't need to be in an office so seems silly to stay in one place when I can go somewhere else that is new, has better quality food and isn't prohibitively affordable for things like healthcare. US is still best when it comes to speech, at least, for now. But I don't want to derail this thread
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I love to play armchair conspirationist, so here's another theory: the arrest is only related to facilitating copyright infringement, and it's at the request of the French copyright cartel, which earlier this year had a judge ordering Internet providers to put DNS filtering in place to block some sites from streaming football (Ligue 1) games [1]. Following this decision, OpenDNS stopped responding to requests from French IP addresses, rather than have a country-specific filter.
This time, the initiator could very well be DAZN, which has recently acquired the rights to Ligue 1 games at prices that most football supporters found extortionate [2]. Various sources report that the games can be watched on some Telegram channels, and that Telegram cooperates with take-down notices but only after a 24 hours delay.
[1] https://next.ink/142507/contraint-de-bloquer-des-noms-de-domaine-opendns-decide-de-quitter-la-france/
[2] https://www.leparisien.fr/sports/football/ligue-1/du-jamais-vu-pour-contourner-dazn-plus-de-200-000-personnes-ont-regarde-le-havre-psg-sur-telegram-17-08-2024-PXB7LZMIGRDKTFICA6LWHEDE7Y.php
It's pure speculation at this point that it was about "political content" unless you mean "political content" to cover things like drug trafficking, child sexual exploitation, fraud, etc.
I didn't know that Durov also has a French passport. I'm not sure how he got a French passport, given that as far as I know, he has never resided in France. Puzzling ...
Isn't this a bit premature before one even knows what the case is really about?
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
You may not have heard, but there was at least one case where they played nice with Germany and gave out user info to the authorities, so I don't necessarily think so...
Best because?
In terms of features, WeChat easily beats it; they roll their own crypto (something you shouldn't really do) and don't have e2e encryption enabled by default - as a result, in terms of security and privacy, Signal and a few others are better - so, what is it that makes you think it's the best app?
Surely you don't mean the possibility of getting your data leaked to the authorities?
(apart from the already mentioned Germany, seems to have happened in India as well 
)
Contribute your idling VPS/dedi (link), Android (link) or iOS (link) devices to medical research
No, I'm fully straightforward here.
Looks like many people seem to misunderstand what Telegram is.
It is not just a messaging app, it is essentially a platform or a social network like properly made twitter with channels and hundreds of thousands / millions of subscribers to those.
And many of those who were forced out of (at least pre-Musk) twitter, reddit, etc. are on Telegram now. Just in case, I mean people, who aren't politically correct in terms of globalist media.
Yes, Pavel Durov has French citizenship:
See the screenshot of his post above, praising the holidays in France.
Considering all the above, I believe it's perfectly in time.
French government and the people behind should see the reaction. Preferably before they mold the public opinion on this.
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Of course, none of this contradicts what I said above (that it's pure speculation that ...)
In addition, the idea that Durov was arrested simply because he wasn't "politically correct in terms of globalist media" just strikes me as utterly fanciful unless, of course, "not being politically correct in terms of globalist media" also includes alleged complicity and/or negligence regarding things like drug trafficking, child sexual exploitation, fraud, etc. on Telegram
I said that I didn't know that Durov also has/had a French passport (i.e., has/had French citizenship) -- I didn't say that I doubted that he had a French passport
I also said that I wasn't sure how he got a French passport (i.e., got French citizenship). As far as I'm aware, vacationing in France isn't a pathway to French citizenship
Considering that none of the above shows what it purports to show, the rational conclusion is that it's a bit premature
So it wouldn't be more sensible to first see what the case is really about?
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
The combination of convenience no other messenger has even closely, and sane, well-thought-out features: user bots, channels, group chats, native desktop client (no Electron!), large file exchange, etc.
WeChat isn't a messenger, it's a "super-app", a terrible monster created by marketers to squeeze out all the profit they can.
It is a counter-example in terms of messenger features.
I didn't mean neither security (I don't have anything super-secret on Telegram and believe it's secure enough for my needs), nor privacy — all the real-life messaging apps require a phone number, otherwise you are likely to be alone there (unfortunately).
Regarding the "proven", open-source crypto libraries:
See this cut from the recent Durov's interview to Tucker Carlson: "We got too much attention from the FBI, the security agencies..." (🎥 that's a video, click the picture ↓ ):
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Somehow it has happened that nearly everyone, who isn't on a proper side politically, is "involved" in sexual abuse of some kind:
— Donald Trump is a kind of porn king: he supposedly was visiting Moscow to meet prostitutes, supposedly had sex with a pornstar (sounds feasible), they even attempted to drag him into the Epstein case at some point, but stopped early;
— Elon Musk was supposedly showing his Super Heavy to some woman;
— Julian Assange has supposedly "raped" two women at once in Sweden (probably looking to beat Trump). The case was closed and opened several times, included contradicting extradition requests, so after all everyone was ashamedly silent about it this June;
— Looks like Kim Dotcom is the only one, who didn't manage to rape anyone. Don't ask me how it happened. Probably because his case is about money, not the politics.
If you are looking to be so pedant, you should have noticed that the citizenship was granted in 2021 and vacation post is from this June. Both dates are in the corresponding screenshots.
As time moves on, there's a very interesting thing about this case:
All the news sites are already posted about it, Musk and Carlson commented on twitter, even Dmitri Medvedev wrote something.
But despite that there are zero official statements on Durov's arrest so far.
In France the detention period without a court order (unsure about the terms) could be up to 48 hours by default.
So behind-the-scenes bargaining over Durov seems to be really furious.
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Why are all those people who fight for civilian rights not travelling with a hidden identity, I don`t get it, all those money and privileges, but still think they are welcome in the western world, I don't understand their stupidness.
His security chief should really ramp up his intelligence and get proper notifications about warrants, not that hard to turn a extra round in the air, while checking if everything will work on the ground and no surprises are waiting.
France is Illuminati, Rothschild etc. country, not safe to stay there for such fighters.
@DataRecovery , I'm not looking to be so "pedant": I think that you simply misunderstood me, so I wanted to clarify
If you can uncover how Durov obtained French citizenship, that would be enlightening
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
No one is accusing Durov of sexual abuse
I mentioned child sexual exploitation as a possible reason why Telegram may have been on the radar of authorities, but perhaps it was some other criminal activity (or activities)
In any case, by all signs, it's really about Durov's alleged complicity and/or negligence regarding certain unlawful things that happen on Telegram. No one is claiming (as far as I can tell) that Durov himself is doing these things
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
You can arrest anyone and mess up their life (making an example out of them) even if your evidence won't hold water in court.
That's the point.
You can find something "suspicious" about any person alive - especially if you ask CIA for help (not that other agencies are a lot less creative).
Then you needn't even get a sentence. Just drag the case, keep them locked, smearing campaigns etc. It works so wonderfully that most people aren't aware of how little real freedom they have.
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Because he’s not there to hide or to fight for your rights, but to market his product, make money, and enjoy his life as a billionaire. The naive ones are usually those who romanticize the position of billionaires.
Is that the point?
I'm not sure that I view Durov as an unsung hero of our times, but setting this aside, France won't be able to keep him in custody long without reasonable legal reasons, and there certainly won't be a secret trial behind closed doors before he's sent to a penal colony in a cold place (or dies mysteriously). He can afford to have good lawyers and in any case, it very probably won't be easy to build a convincing legal case against him
Durov wasn't arrested on his way home from work because he stole a copy of Playboy magazine when he was 16
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Let me try to put it in a different way:
"This is what happens to a rich guy that steps on our toes. Imagine what would happen to you if you tried!"
It doesn't matter if he (or even Snowden for that matter) is a saint or an unsung hero. It's even more convenient if he isn't.
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You know, my evaluation of this is that it really depends on what this ("that steps on our toes") amounts to in the present situation
If there's a secret Telegram channel where people gather to complain and to curse about Macron, and Durov doesn't want to reveal further details about this channel (these people), then I'm in full support of Durov
But, for example, if there's a secret Telegram channel where people gather to discuss how to pursue child sexual exploitation, and Durov doesn't want to reveal further details about this channel (these people), then this steps on all of our toes, and in this case, freedom-of-this or freedom-of-that should be relegated to the dustbin
Snowden's case was/is very different
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Despite being a daily telegram user and telegram is my only messenger since 2014, I am so glad somebody finally put him into submission. His "end to end encrypted" messenger is actually unencrypted and this is the reason why he refuses to process data requests: he would be able to export everything about an user (private and public messages included).
Signal on the other side will happily provide all the data they have to the police: aka the time and location of last access and the registration date.
Basically, you have nothing to hide if you have nothing about your users
You can't have privacy of your mail and have it checked for what you are discussing in it at the same time.
"If one child is saved" is a great argument for further enslaving people - who would say no to that?!
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Telegram team just posted this on their news channel:
Indeed, that's not a great argument, but this is because it's not about one hypothetical child who is saved, nor is it about further enslaving people
But it sounds much more dramatic to phrase it in the way that you did
In any case, we'll see how this plays out. As I said above, it won't be a secret trial behind closed doors
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Great video summarizing what was happening and what can happen to Durov
https://odysee.com/@fireship:6/billionaire-pavel-durov-arrested...-the:0
Always has been - conservatives have always liked and supported fascism. They just didn't like when it started biting into profits and (obviously looking to start) bombing their homes too.
Yup, exactly - don't call it "conservative" when there are better words to describe it.
Edit:
I hope this thread doesn't move in the direction that requires locking or removing. Keep it on topic.
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https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1828077245606342672 (archive)
Can't stop laughing, the very same people who criminalize speech and want to ban End to End Encryption.
Samuel Paty for example, was beheaded by an Islamist invader and people were put in prison for talking about it. "World-renowned" organizations even talked about it. Actions of French police included intimidating 10 year old kids and accusing them of hecking racism.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/11/france-is-not-the-free-speech-champion-it-says-it-is-2/
Of course its not all, but gives you a pretty good idea how "democratic" France is.
Yeah, about these judges... https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/world/europe/france-justice-minister-corruption-trial.html
Macron is a clown. I don't have to repeat what I think of France and French "people".
Reposting from Telegram Info English (unofficial news channel):
This topic is getting close to being locked (or moved to the rubbish bin), and posts like this one could result in a ban.
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The press release is now up (in French and English): https://www.tribunal-de-paris.justice.fr/sites/default/files/2024-08/2024-08-26 - CP TELEGRAM .pdf
Telegram Info English has also posted a response to it:
This indicates that if Durovs advocate is good - he will be released in no time.
From Telegram Info English:
An article has been posted on NYTimes and BBC, too.
image taken from: https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2024/08/28/under-moderation-en
These people are not smart. Why are they not out protesting their government Youtube ban?
All these propaganda support from the russian government makes me think they have some backdoor into telegram.
Wait and see.
The irony is so thick that you could cut it with a knife ...
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
Bail is 5 mil euros for multi bilionaire
. For him it is like lunch money.
A thicker irony is that people, who declare others not smart, roar about Russian propaganda, and suspect the presence of backdoors, are unable to read the two-string-long caption under the photo saying "... a May Day rally in St. Petersburg, Russia, May 1, 2018" ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The thickest irony would be reading what Nova Gazeta and other "free and independent" newspapers like them were saying about Durov back then.
One must be really smart for that though. Mentally strong © I would say.
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I just found the image interesting and posted it including the source.
I have red the source previously and there was nothing related to the image in the article story.
Personally, I am not happy for French globalist communists trying to limit people freedom of speech, under whatever 'saving the world, fighting crime, go go Power Rangers!' pretense they are using.
Luckily, we have nice platforms like Google Chat, Facebook, Viber and WeChat, which value users privacy and freedom, so we don't have to rely on Telegram or god forbid Signal. Oh wait WHA-
Looks like (liberal) capitalism to me. Not a "c" of communism.
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Fair enough
I'll just note that I was commenting on a photo that @Janevski posted from the newspaper in question, and although I glanced briefly at the article and saw that the article was from 28 August, I admittedly missed the caption of the photo, which said that the photo was from 01 May 2018. (It's possible that @Janevski missed this detail as well)
Frankly, I fault the author of the article for including that old photo at this time, which seems like a poor attempt at sensationalism
In light of this, I'd like to retract and to apologize for my comment about the thick irony, which was based on the (incorrect) assumption that the photo was from a few days ago
(Unfortunately, sensationalist tendencies in journalism are everywhere these days)
"A single swap file or partition may be up to 128 MB in size. [...] [I]f you need 256 MB of swap, you can create two 128-MB swap partitions." (M. Welsh & L. Kaufman, Running Linux, 2e, 1996, p. 49)
And WA has a much larger critical mass of users.
Durov has posted for the first time since his arrest
https://t.me/durov/342
I'm sure this is pure coheincindence
Fuck this 24/7 internet spew of trivia and celebrity bullshit.
Do you have a link to this channel?
It always is, with these (((people))).
https://t.me/AntiPlumbers
https://ddosecrets.com/
tldr; organization larping as wikileaks 2.0, ran by transgenders(they really want you to know about it, putting flags and shit like that everywhere, i wouldnt care otherwise), founded by a convicted pedophile and drug trafficker Thomas White
More activity from Telegram to fix their image in eyes of Governments
https://t.me/durov/345
And that's how pompastic ideas like "private and secure" becomes "heavily moderated, filtered and monitored by XYZ". Now it is time for Signal to be scrutinized. And one day we will just return to good old jabber xmpp.