Category: Michael Novakhov – SharedNewsLinks℠

It was 10 years ago that Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the most popular Russian-speaking social media VKontakte (VK), modeled after Facebook, announced on April 16, 2014, that he had said “No” to the FSB by rejecting the Russian security service’s demand that he hand over the personal data of organizers of Ukraine’s Euromaidan revolutionary groups.  

“Delivery of personal data of Ukrainians to the Russian authorities would not have been only illegal, it would have been treason against all those millions of Ukrainians who trust us.” he wrote. He admitted that his decision would cost him control over his company — he was forced to sell his share in VK.

His second post, two hours later, said, “On March 13, 2014, the Prosecutor’s office requested that I shut the anticorruption group of Alexey Navalny. I didn’t close this group in December 2011, and I certainly won’t close it now. In recent weeks, I was under pressure from different angles. We managed to gain over a month, but it’s time to state this — neither myself, nor my team are going to conduct political censorship . . . Freedom of information is an inalienable right in post-industrial society.”

Five days later, Durov was fired as chief executive. Soon afterward, he left Russia and never returned.

That was how Durov, then a 29-year-old St-Petersburg-based IT entrepreneur, lost his first child, the Vkontakte social network, and his motherland. He later took French citizenship.

He retained his vision that Internet technologies could be a global and successful challenge to traditional national systems of control. And he kept his reputation — most Russians admired his bravery and his stand against the FSB. He also retained control over a new project his team had been working on for some time — Telegram messenger.

Telegram proved itself more creative than other messengers when it gave its users an option to run the channels — news feeds administered by the users. In countries where freedom of media was under attack from the governments, those channels became a substitute for news outlets, although not exactly — most popular channels were filled with half-news, half gossip, in some cases from known and trusted sources, but also from anonymous sources, who positioned themselves as insiders.

In Russia, both sides grabbed this new Telegram feature — pro-Kremlin bloggers used Telegram channels to spread propaganda and disinformation, while independent journalists and activists turned to Telegram to break through censorship. 

The messenger system gained popularity around the world, especially in countries with poor connectivity and authoritarian regimes, and there it became a competitor to Facebook’s WhatsApp messenger.

It put Durov at odds with an increasing number of governments: Russia banned Telegram for two years in 2018, while Iran blocked the app during the protests in 2017 and in 2018. Western governments, too, were upset because Telegram became increasingly popular among terrorist groups and all kinds of criminals. The service is accused of aiding money launderers, terrorists, extreme pornographers, and child abusers.

Durov maintained his public stance about privacy but secretly negotiated deals with governments that resulted in the lifting of bans and never revealed the terms.

For instance, we’re not sure exactly why the Kremlin lifted its ban on the messenger service in 2020. The Kremlin said Durov must not only ban “extremist content” but also wanted him to surrender Telegram’s encryption keys that would allow authorities to read private conversations. Telegram was unblocked in June 2020. Had Durov made some sort of deal with the FSB?  We don’t know.

Following the Kremlin’s unprecedented and existential offensive against independent media on the eve of the all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, most Russian journalists and opposition moved to Telegram, along with YouTube. Durov made no effort to block this, and nor did he raise a finger about the increasing presence of pro-Kremlin bloggers on the app.

When the full-scale war in Ukraine started, we launched a Telegram channel for our website Agentura.ru. The website was blocked by the Kremlin, but the channel was not. That story was repeated by many Russian independent media outlets, who are now in exile.

At the same time, the war gave a boost to pro-war bloggers, who enjoyed a massive following, which helped to mobilize public support for the war and crowd-fund for the Russian military.

As a result, Durov found himself under fire from all sides: the Kremlin demanded he block what it did not like, and Russian liberals criticized Telegram for providing a platform to warmongers. Human rights activists were meanwhile warning anti-war activists against using Telegram as a messenger because it was unclear whether the authorities had access to the system.

The unmediated mix of users, including two armies at war, reflects precisely Durov’s idea of freedom of expression. Everyone can have a say on social media, and there shouldn’t be any kind of control from any government.

His quasi-anarchic attitude seems to echo the ideology of the early hacker movement of the 1980s, but it isn’t a sustainable strategy today, when governments around the world are on the offensive against the free-for-all approach online. This bureaucratic counter-offensive has been efficient and successful.

First, the authorities recognized that behind even the most ambitious global platforms are human beings; and human beings can be put under all sorts of pressure. For example, in 2016, Brazilian authorities briefly detained Diego J. Dzodan, Facebook’s vice-president for Latin America, because WhatsApp had refused to share the messages of alleged drug dealers.

Next, the concept that big tech business tycoons were too eminent for even authoritarian states to tangle with was quietly abandoned, when, in 2020, Jack Ma, a high-profile Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder, fell out with the authorities. His company’s stock market listing was suspended, and Ma disappeared from the public eye. Later, he reappeared in Japan as a visiting professor at Tokyo College. 

In retrospect, Durov was living a charmed existence in his Dubai-based exile. The tech attitudes of 2014 look hopelessly out of date 10 years later. Governments from the US to Europe and far beyond are rolling out more and more regulations for social media, from Facebook to TikTok.

No one — other perhaps than the tech titans themselves can really argue against evidence that unruly social media can cause a lot of damage. The time for unmoderated social media has long passed.

Quite how that happens is a question to be discussed. But at the far end of the spectrum, the nation-state has the ability to arrest those who refuse to cooperate. That is how the French decided to make Telegram cooperate with the country’s law enforcement agencies. Other tools are also available — in 2020, India banned 59 Chinese apps altogether.

But is government coercion the only way to enforce the rules?

Users are constantly presented with an alternative — either a dangerously chaotic social media or government control. But maybe there are other options.

Social media are an essential part of our societal fabric, and our society, through non-government organizations, or parliaments, and parliamentary hearings, are perfectly capable of creating mechanisms of control that do not include the arrests of CEOs for the lack of moderation.

Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan are Non-resident Senior Fellows with the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA.) They are Russian investigative journalists, and co-founders of Agentura.ru, a watchdog of Russian secret service activities.

Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.

В 2017 году спецслужбы Франции и ОАЭ провели совместную операцию по взлому айфона, принадлежащего Павлу Дурову. Об этом пишет The Wall Street Journal со ссылкой на источники.

Издание утверждает, что операция по взлому называлась Purple music и была спланирована из-за обеспокоенности французских силовиков тем, что ИГИЛ использует мессенджер для вербовки и терактов.

Через год после этого президент Франции Эмманюэль Макрон обедал с Дуровым и предлагал перенести штаб-квартиру Telegram в Париж. Как сказано в материале издания, тот отказался от предложения Макрона. Кроме этого, на этой встрече президент Франции обсуждал с основателем Telegram предоставление французского гражданства. В 2021 году он получил его по процедуре, которая, как отмечает газета Le Monde, применяется крайне редко. Тогда же он получил гражданство и ОАЭ.

“Хотя нет никаких признаков того, что встреча с Макроном или взлом телефона Дурова сыграли роль в его задержании, эти детали проливают новый свет на долгие и сложные отношения Дурова с Францией и ОАЭ”, – отмечает WSJ.

Дурова задержали вечером 24 августа в парижском аэропорту Ле-Бурже, куда он прилетел из Азербайджана на частном самолете. Вместе с ним были телохранитель и спутница, которых позже отпустили.

Основателя Telegram задержали в рамках расследования, которое проводится в отношении неустановленного лица по 12 составам преступлений.

The alleged leader of a global ransomware scam has been extradited from Poland to face charges in the U.S. that he defrauded millions of Americans.

The U.S. Secret Service detained Maksim Silnikau, a dual Belarussian and Ukrainian citizen who was formally indicted in both New Jersey and Virginia for computer hacking and wire fraud schemes, according to court documents unsealed on August 13. Silnikov, 38, has been associated with the online monikers “J.P. Morgan”, “xxx” and “lansky”.

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said: “For over a decade, the defendant used a host of online disguises and a network of fraudulent ad campaigns to spread ransomware and scam U.S. businesses and consumers.”

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She added: “The Justice Department takes another step forward in disrupting ransomware actors and malicious cybercriminals who prey on victims in the U.S. and around the world.”

The arrest is part of a long-term investigation by the U.S. Secret Service with the help of foreign, domestic and private partners, according to Brian Lamber, the assistant director of investigations with the Secret Service.

“Cybercriminals should know that even if they attempt to hide their criminal conduct behind the anonymity of the internet that eventually, through the dedication of international law enforcement professionals, they will be apprehended and held accountable for their actions,” Lambert said.

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In New Jersey, Silnikau is charged along with his alleged co-conspirators Volodymyr Kadari, of Belarus and Ukraine, and Andrei Tarasov, of Russia. The District of New Jersey charged the three with cybercrime offenses in association with a scheme to transmit the Angler Exploit Kit and other malware.

They face maximum penalties of 27 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy, 10 years in prison for computer fraud conspiracy and 20 years on each wire fraud count.

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Angler Exploit Kit enabled the delivery of the “scareware” ads to display fake messages claiming to have identified a virus or other issues with the victim’s device. The messages then tried to deceive the victim into buying or downloading software, providing remote access and disclosing personal identifying or financial information.

The court claims the three worked to scam “millions of unsuspecting victims” through online advertisements, or by “malvertising” between October 2013 and March 2022.

The ads “appeared legitimate but were actually designed to deliver malware,” according to Nicole Argentieri, the principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s criminal division. The malware would compromise devices and retrieve personal information.

“The conspirators’ scheme caused unsuspecting Internet users to be forcibly redirected to malicious content on millions of occasions, and defrauded and attempted to defraud various U.S.-based companies involved in the sale and distribution of legitimate online advertisements,” according to the the Secret Service.

The three were able to “trick” advertising companies into delivering their malvertising campaigns by using dozens of online personas to pose as legit advertising companies. They also used and developed technologies and codes to refine their malware to conceal their malicious nature behind the advertising.

U.S. attorney Philip Sellinger said Silnikau and his co-conspirators would sell the information to other cybercriminals “on the dark net.”

In Virginia, Silnikau is charged for his role as the creator and administrator of the Ransom Cartel ransomware strain that started operating in May 2021. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years.

Silnikau was allegedly a member of Russian-speaking cybercrime forums since at least 2005. He was also said to be a member of the cybercrime website Direct Connection from 2011 to 2016.

In 2021, it is alleged that he developed his own ransomware operation and recruited people from the cybercrime forums. On Nov. 16, 2021, Silnikau allegedly executed a ransomware attack on a company based in New York. Four months later, Ransom Cartel was deployed again in California.

“Silnikau and his co-conspirators allegedly used malware and various online scams to target millions of unsuspecting internet users in the United States and around the world,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.

“They hid behind online aliases and engaged in complex, far-reaching cyber fraud schemes to compromise victim devices and steal sensitive personal information. The FBI will continue to work with partners to aggressively impose costs on cybercriminals and hold them accountable for their actions.”

Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.

A former aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of being behind the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging platform.

The 39-year-old billionaire was arrested in France on August 24 as part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraudulent transactions on the platform, the French government said on Monday.

The Russian-born entrepreneur is accused of failing to curb the spread of illegal content on Telegram, which has nearly one billion users worldwide.

Without providing any evidence on the allegations, Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of Russia’s State Duma (a role akin to that of Speaker in the U.S. House of Representatives), has claimed that the U.S., through France, attempted to take control of Telegram.

“Telegram is one of the few and, at the same time, the largest Internet platforms over which the United States has no influence,” Volodin said in a post.

“On the eve of the U.S. presidential election, it is important for President Joe Biden to take Telegram under control.”

The arrest comes after French President Emmanuel Macron denied any involvement and said on Monday that the French government was not involved in the arrest of the Telegram founder.

“The arrest of Telegram’s president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide,” Macron said.

The Kremlin claimed on Monday that it had yet to see any official French accusations against Durov.

According to French media, Durov was arrested upon arrival in his private jet at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris. The tech tycoon was allegedly targeted by an arrest warrant as part of a preliminary investigation by authorities.

Durov left Russia in 2014 after losing control of his previous company due to his refusal to provide security agencies with the data of Ukrainian protesters.

Durov is a resident of Dubai and holds dual citizenship in the United Arab Emirates and France.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian foreign ministry, Telegram, the White House, and the French president’s office for comment.

Telegram is a cloud-based messaging app that allows users to send text messages, voice messages, multimedia files, and make voice and video calls. It was launched in 2013 by Russian brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Telegram became the main source of information and content from from combat zones and the front lines on both sides of the war.

The encrypted social media app is frequently used by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian officials to post updates on the ongoing conflict.

Telegram is one of the most important communication tools in the Russia-Ukraine war, and users will be watching closely how Durov’s detention unfolds as the future of the app remains uncertain.

Samuel Greene, Professor of Russian Politics at King’s College London, told Newsweek that Western governments “have concerns about public safety and public health” on the app.

Greene argues the case will “set a precedent” for dealing with public safety concerns on social media platforms.

Greene said that authoritarian regimes like Russia want to see Telegram “cease to exist” because they want to “control” information.

“Western governments are interested in supporting democracy and anti-authoritarian resistance movements around the world. There is a very real interest in making sure that Telegram continues to be a resource for movements that fear prosecution and that need safe spaces to communicate.”

An European Union Commission spokesperson told Newsweek, “We are closely monitoring the developments related to Telegram and stand ready to cooperate with the French authorities should it be relevant.”

“Telegram, like all online platforms operating in the EU, has to comply with the general provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) since 17 February 2024.

“The DSA sets out due diligence obligations for all online platforms to ensure everyone in the EU can trust their services. The DSA requires platforms to provide users with means to flag illegal content as well as to cooperate with national authorities, including when they acquire knowledge of serious crimes or when they receive orders to provide information on accounts suspected of criminal activity.”

“Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving,” Telegram said in a statement on Sunday evening.

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Paris
CNN
 — 

The Kremlin is trying to calm fears that the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France could upend the messaging platform, which is extremely popular in Russia and plays a key role in coordinating the war effort in Ukraine.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that calls for users to delete their sensitive messages on the app, including from the editor of Russia’s state-run RT news, were “utterly stupid.”

Peskov added that though the allegations against Durov, who was born in Russia but also has citizenship in France and the United Arab Emirates, were “serious,” French authorities would have to put forward “equally serious” evidence to back them up.

“Otherwise, there will be a direct attempt to restrict freedom of communication. And we can even say direct intimidation of the head of a large company. Which means there will be politics involved, something that Mr. Macron denied yesterday,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin’s move to assuage concerns over the future safety of Telegram underscores how important the app has become to Russia’s military.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said the decision to bring charges against Durov was “in no way political,” a rare move as French leaders often avoid discussing criminal cases to avoid any suggestion of politics influencing judicial affairs.

The Paris prosecutor’s office on Monday announced a litany of charges against Durov, including allegations that his platform was complicit in aiding money launderers, drug traffickers and people spreading child pornography. Prosecutors also accused Durov of refusing to comply with French authorities’ demand for help intercepting potentially illicit communications.

At a news conference in Moscow following talks with his Yemeni counterpart on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov alleged, without proof, that “Durov was clearly taken away on someone’s advice and is being threatened with terrible punishment, apparently hoping to somehow gain access to encryption codes.”

With around 950 million users, Telegram is one of the world’s most popular messaging apps. Its strong end-to-end encryption, limited content moderation and functionality — it allows users to share larger files, longer videos and higher-quality photos than many of its competitors — has made it extremely popular in both countries where freedom of speech is curtailed and in war zones, including in Ukraine, where it has become a vital tool for Ukrainian officials to share military updates and warnings about air raids.

“It is very convenient, it is very secure,” Lavrov said.

Those same features have also made Telegram a key communication tool for the Russian military and pro-Kremlin bloggers. One popular pro-Russian war blogger with more than 780,000 followers reshared a post saying that France’s decision to arrest Durov meant that “in essence, the head of communications for the Russian Armed Forces was detained.”

Another less-followed military blogger posted a picture with the words “for Pavel” on a missile presumably bound for Ukraine, which on Monday was hit by the largest aerial attack since the war began.

The blogger, Aleksei Sukonkin, said that Telegram is “the basis of military communications,” even if Russian government officials publicly dispute the claim.

“Telegram is a powerful, alternative to the official, and of course, more efficient information resource; telegram is also the main civilian messenger in Russia, practically uncontrolled by Western intelligence agencies, as well as a powerful advertising resource and a platform for personal blogs,” Sukonkin said. “All this is under threat.”

Telegram’s popularity with pro-Russian military bloggers and the Kremlin’s active support for Durov is somewhat surprising considering the tech entrepreneur refused to supply Moscow with data from users of his previous enterprise, a Facebook-like social media network called Vkontakte (VK).

Durov later resigned as VK’s CEO and sold his shares for millions of dollars. Both he and Telegram are now based in Dubai.

CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed to this report.

Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, was arrested in Paris over the weekend over allegations that his platform is being used for illicit activity such as drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.

Durov, who was born in Russia, spent much of his childhood in Italy and is a citizen of France, Russia, the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis and the United Arab Emirates. He was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport in France on Saturday after landing from Azerbaijan.

In a statement posted to its platform, Telegram said it abides by EU laws and its content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.” Durov, the company added, “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”

Here are some details on Telegram, the app at the center of Durov’s arrest.

WHAT IS TELEGRAM?

Telegram is an app that allows for one-on-one conversations, group chats and large “channels” that let people broadcast messages to subscribers. Unlike rivals such as Meta’s WhatsApp, Telegram’s group chats allow as many as 200,000 people, compared to a maximum of 1,024 for WhatsApp. Experts have raised concerns that misinformation spreads easily in group chats of this size.

Telegram offers encryption for their communications, but — contrary to a popular misconception — this feature is not on by default. Users have to switch on the option to encrypt their chats. It also doesn’t work with group chats. That contrasts with rival Signal and Facebook Messenger, where chats are encrypted end-to-end by default.

Telegram says it has more than 950 million active users. It is widely used in France as a messaging tool, including by some officials in the presidential palace and in the ministry behind the investigation into Durov. But French investigators have also found the app has been used by Islamic extremists and drug traffickers.

Telegram was launched in 2013 by Durov and his brother Nikolai. According to Telegram, Pavel Durov supports the app “financially and ideologically while Nikolai’s input is technological.”

Before Telegram, Durov founded VKontakte, Russia’s largest social network. The company came under pressure amid the Russian government’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012. Durov said government authorities demanded that the VKontakte take down the online communities of Russian opposition activists. It later asked the platform to hand over the personal data of users who took part in the 2013 uprising in Ukraine, which eventually ousted a pro-Kremlin president.

But Durov sold his stake in VKontakte after pressure from Russian authorities in 2014. He also left the country. Today, Telegram is based in Dubai, which Durov called “the best place for a neutral platform like ours to be in if we want to make sure we can defend our users’ privacy and freedom of speech” in an April interview with conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson.

WHY WAS DUROV ARRESTED?

French media has reported that Durov was detained on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses. As of Monday afternoon, he had not been charged, and few details were available on the investigation.

On Sunday night, a French investigative judge extended Durov’s detention order, French media reported on Monday. Under French law, Durov can remain in custody for questioning for up to four days. After that, judges must decide to either charge him or release him.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE?

In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on reports of Durov’s arrest in France.

“We still don’t know what exactly Durov is being accused of,” Peskov said Monday during his daily media conference call. “We haven’t heard any official statements on that matter.”

“Let’s wait until the charges are announced – if they are announced,” Peskov said.

Russian government officials have expressed outrage at Durov’s detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics: in 2018 Russian authorities themselves tried to block Telegram but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.

Elsewhere, Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X who has called himself a “ free speech absolutist,” has been speaking out in support of Durov and posted ”#freePavel” following the arrest.

In a statement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws, and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”

“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post said. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”

DOES TELEGRAM MODERATE CONTENT?

Western governments have often criticized Telegram for a lack of content moderation, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of material linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.

Compared to other messaging platforms, Telegram is “less secure (and) more lax in terms of policy and detection of illegal content,” said David Thiel, a Stanford University researcher, who has investigated the use of online platforms for child exploitation, at its Internet Observatory.

In addition, Telegram “appears basically unresponsive to law enforcement,” Thiel said, adding that messaging service WhatsApp “submitted over 1.3 million CyberTipline reports in 2023 (and) Telegram submits none.”

In 2022, Germany issued fines of 5.125 million euros ($5 million) against the operators of Telegram for failing to comply with German law. The Federal Office of Justice said that Telegram FZ-LLC hasn’t established a lawful way for reporting illegal content or named an entity in Germany to receive official communication.

Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.

Last year, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry into school shootings in November.

Telegram said in response to the arrest that it abides by EU laws and its content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”

—-

Associated Press Writers Barbara Surk in Nice, France, and Daria Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this story.

PARIS, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France as part of an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions on the platform, French prosecutors said on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron, making the first official confirmation of Durov’s arrest since he was detained at Le Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, said there was no political motive in the arrest, despite many false comments online. He added that France remains deeply committed to lawful free speech.

“The arrest of the Telegram president on French territory took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Macron wrote on X. “This is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to decide.”

In a subsequent statement, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Durov was arrested as part of a probe into an unnamed person launched by the office’s cybercrime unit on July 8.

The investigation is over suspected complicity in various crimes including running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud, as well as the refusal to communicate information to authorities, money laundering and providing cryptographic services to criminals, the statement said.

Durov can be held until Wednesday, it added.

Reuters was unable to reach any lawyer representing Durov.

Telegram is a popular messaging and social media app akin to WhatsApp. The encrypted application, with close to 1 billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Durov’s arrest prompted criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack, and calls from Moscow for French authorities to accord Durov his rights.

Tensions between France and Russia have been mounting for months, with French authorities accusing Russia of trying to destabilize it ahead of the Paris Olympics in response to its more hawkish stance on the Ukraine war – claims Russia denies.

Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire cast as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg” has dual French and United Arab Emirates citizenship. Estimated by Forbes to have a fortune of $15.5 billion, Durov said in April some governments had sought to pressure him, but the app should remain a neutral platform and not a “player in geopolitics”.

Telegram gave no details of the arrest but said the Dubai-based company abided by European Union laws and its moderation was “within industry standards and constantly improving”.

“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe,” Telegram said in a statement. “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.”

The Kremlin on Monday said it had yet to see any official French accusations against Durov.

“We do not yet know what exactly Durov is accused of,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing. “With what exactly are they trying to incriminate Durov? Without (knowing), it would probably be wrong to make any statements.”

The Russian embassy in Paris said on X that French authorities had declined to cooperate with its requests for consular access, but said it was in contact with Durov’s lawyer. The embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

FRENCH CITIZEN

Telegram was founded by Durov, a self-confessed libertarian who left Russia in 2014 after he refused to comply with demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he has sold.

He obtained his French passport in 2021 through a rare, fast-track procedure for high-profile foreigners exempting them from the usual legal requirements, including having lived in the country for at least five years.

The French foreign ministry, which is in charge of the procedure, did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. The Elysee presidential office also declined to comment, deferring to the foreign ministry.

According to French law, any foreigner can be granted citizenship under the special rules provided he speaks French and “contributes through his outstanding work to France’s influence and the prosperity of its international economic relations.”

Durov never lived in France and it was unclear what special link he had to the country. On June 10, Durov posted in his Telegram channel: “As a French citizen, I agree that France is the best holiday destination.”

His naturalization procedure is rare, with only 10-20 cases processed each year and each one requiring high-level political support, local media have reported.

Aside from the citizenships of France and the United Arab Emirates, Durov has been reported by Russian state media to have also the citizenships of Russia and of St Kitts and Nevis. Reuters was unable to verify those reports.

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Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Elizabeth Pineau and Gabriel Stargardter in Paris and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow; Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Alison Williams, Andrew Heavens and Sandra Maler

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Election Day is now just 70 days away. The Republican National Convention is over, with Donald Trump and JD Vance at the top of the GOP ticket. The Democratic National Convention is also behind us, with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz winning their party’s nomination after President Biden abruptly dropped out of the race in July. 

If there is one theme that is common to politicians in both parties, it is how they misrepresent information to spin a positive view of themselves — and a negative view of their opponents. 

Using data to make a point is common in today’s digital society. Given the plethora of data available, it is often straightforward to find evidence that makes just about any point a politician wishes to make. Even if perception is not reality, voters must wade through all such information to make their own assessments and conclusions. 

Consider the economy as an example that impacts almost everyone. Is the economy healthy or struggling? The question sounds simple, but the answer depends on what data you use. 

The major indices of the stock market are near all-time highs. Inflation has stabilized at around 3 percent, moderating price increases. The Federal Reserve is talking about an interest rate cut later in the year. All such aggregated metrics can be interpreted to mean that the economy is on solid footing. Yet many such metrics have limited impact on some people. 

Though purchasing power (wage increases minus inflation) have been positive over the past year, the perception of higher prices has dampened some people’s view of the economy. The unemployment rate now sitz at around 4.3 percent, with job creation slowing. Much depends on what area a person works in, with some sectors struggling to find skilled workers and other sectors showing a surfeit of people seeking work. 

All such data is factually true. What differs is how data is cherry-picked to make a desired point — one that shines a dark shadow on your opponent and a bright light on yourself. This is the nature of politics and campaigning, part of every politician’s campaign playbook since the birth of our nation. 

When data and information are misused, fact-checkers quickly jump in to assess what is being stated and its veracity. Often, fact-checking debunks politicians’ misinformation but has little to no effect. In today’s political environment, there is no accountability when a politician makes blatantly wrong statements or (conveniently) fails to provide a complete picture of a situation. 

Both Republicans and Democrats are guilty of such distortions. And the voters in each party are primed to believe them, and to discount anything offered by the other side. 

For example, when Donald Trump stated on Aug. 15 in a news conference that “California law lets you ‘rob a store as long as it’s not more than $950’ and not get charged,” blaming Kamala Harris, Politifact rated the claim as false. Similarly, Politifact rated as mostly false Harris’s July 30 statement in a rally in Atlanta that “Donald Trump intends to cut Medicare.”  

Though there is no direct way to stop such misrepresentations, voters should welcome them: they actually serve as valuable pieces of information. When a candidate makes outrageous statements that misrepresent data, it permits voters to access the character and platform of the candidate.  

Of course, voters are prone to believe what they want rather than what is true. 

What candidates appear to forget in their campaigning strategy is this simple truth. Given the polarized status of the nation and electorate, a small number of voters will ultimately determine who will win the White House. In 2016, it came down to around 110,000 votes in three states (Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania), while in 2020, it was around 50,000 votes, also in three states (Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona). Only these states — and these voters — are critical when it comes to assessing the credibility and electability of a candidate. 

Data misrepresentations, including deepfakes, provide valuable information for voters, such as when Trump posted a fake Taylor Swift endorsement, prompting backlash. With social media effectively communicating information at the speed of light, politicians today would be wise to keep their statements about their opponents as close to true as possible. Given that it will likely take just a few thousand votes to move the Electoral College outcome and determine who will win the White House, the risk of being exposed can be a candidate’s undoing. 

So when Donald Trump or Kamala Harris make statements about each other, they will certainly get cheers from their respective supporters at rallies. However, the 100,000 people in key battleground states are their real audience and who they should be speaking to. Indeed, the candidates with the most outrageous misrepresentations may find themselves on the losing end come Election Day.  

Sheldon H. Jacobson, Ph.D., is a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

‘Who would we put in the room?’

Getting to ‘yes’

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was detained at a Paris airport for allegedly enabling criminal activity with his encrypted messaging app, French media reported Saturday.

France issued an arrest warrant for Durov on charges of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children and fraud due to the lack of moderation on Telegram and his failure to cooperate with law enforcement, the TF1, LCI and BFMTV media outlets reported.

The 39-year-old billionaire was detained on the tarmac of Paris-Le Bourget Airport after his private jet landed from Azerbaijan, TF1 reported.

TF1 quoted an anonymous investigator as saying that Durov would most likely be placed in pre-trial detention.

“On his platform, he allowed an incalculable number of offenses and crimes to be committed, for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate [with law enforcement],” TF1 quoted a source close to the case as saying.

The arrest warrant was reportedly only valid in France.

Durov allegedly knew that he was “persona non grata” in France, rarely traveled to Europe and avoided countries where Telegram was under surveillance by security forces, a source close to the investigation told TF1.

“He made a mistake tonight. We don’t know why… Was this flight just a stopover? In any case, he’s in custody,” TF1 quoted the source as saying.

Telegram is widely used by Russian speakers.

It has become a key platform for sharing information about the war in Ukraine and is reportedly used by the Russian military to communicate.

“Telegram is the main social media network through which open-source information is spread about the war. That includes footage but also opinions and analysis from Russian and Ukrainian military sources. A significant change to Telegram’s policies could have a significant effect on the information domain for this war,” military expert Rob Lee said on X (formerly Twitter).

Deputy Russian State Duma Speaker Vladislav Davankov said he had sent an appeal to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to seek Durov’s release.

“His arrest may be politically motivated and a tool to gain access to the personal information of Telegram users. This must not be allowed,” the state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoted Davankov as saying.

The Russian-born boss of Telegram, which he says boasts over 900 million users, is currently based in Dubai. He became a naturalized French citizen in August 2021.

Durov, also the founder of the VKontakte social network, left Russia in 2014 after he refused to share VKontakte users’ data with Russian security services. Russia later unsuccessfully attempted to block Telegram over its refusal to provide users’ online communications to security services.

“His non-cooperation with the FSB in favor of free speech is unfortunately completely neutralized by his non-cooperation with anyone to stop Telegram from being used for all these terrible things. It was his choice. Was it possible to do one and not do the other?” wrote investigative journalist Christo Grozev.

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