HASFollowing the curious announcement of the arrest of Pavel Durov, founder of the social network Telegram, and his being placed in police custody for five days, the Paris prosecutor announced on Wednesday 28 August that the latter had been charged and subjected to severe sentences of judicial control prohibiting him from leaving the national territory.
It was indeed curious to note that in this way we are limiting the founder of a communication platform used by almost a billion people around the world, particularly popular among defenders of freedoms in the Russian-speaking world, where Mr Durov comes from. In France itself, many political leaders favour this communication network.
The social network enjoys such a good reputation, especially because it is not owned by an American company, which exempts it from the Cloud Act. This American law, in force since 2018, allows the American judicial authority to request access to the data of any company in accordance with American law, even if it is stored abroad.
Lack of cooperation from Telegram
Moreover, Durov, having established silence as a principle, has in the past refused, with his VKontakte platform, to pass on the data of Russian oppositionists to the Moscow government. Today he maintains ambiguous relations with the Kremlin. However, his past positions arouse the interest of those who seek greater confidentiality and see in this discretion a guarantee of security.
Telegram has also become the preferred tool for users with less honourable intentions, who see it as a protection against their misdeeds. In fact, the platform is used by criminals who exchange information on methods of bank card fraud, money laundering methods using cryptocurrencies or who sell narcotics or counterfeit drugs.
In the face of these crimes or violations, judicial authorities are faced with the lack of cooperation from Telegram, which does not provide any information, forcing investigators to seek other means, sometimes complex and fruitless, to identify suspects.
A surprising position
The law on confidence in the digital economy of 21 June 2004, known as “LCEN”, classifies social networks such as Telegram as hosts. As such, these platforms are not responsible for the content posted by users. However, the law imposes certain obligations on them, such as the obligation to cooperate with the judicial authority when it requests information on the identity of account holders who have committed illegal actions.
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