Aug 26, 2024 11:03 AM IST
Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov was detained in France for investigation into the lack of moderators on the app.
Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov was detained in France on Saturday night owing to investigation focused on a lack of moderators on the messaging app, it was reported. The Russian embassy in France demanded that Pavel Durov should be granted consular access and his rights must be upheld. The embassy said that France has ‘avoided engagement’ regarding Pavel Durov’s situation so far. Here’s all you need to know about Pavel Durov:
1. The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire is the founder and CEO of Telegram with an estimated worth of approximately $15.5 billion.
2. Pavel Durov’s journey began with the creation of VKontakte in 2006 which was Russia’s version of Facebook and became the country’s largest social networking site.
3. In 2014, Pavel Durov left Russia after refusing to comply with demands to shut down opposition networks on VKontakte.
4. At the time, he sold his stake in the company and in 2013, Pavel Durov launched Telegram.
5. The app already has hundreds of millions of users worldwide and is likely to reach one billion monthly active users in the coming year.
6. The app is popular in Russia, Ukraine, and other former Soviet states.
7. In 2018, Russia attempted to ban Telegram after Pavel Durov refused to grant state security agents access to users’ encrypted messages. This led to protests and criticism from NGOs.
8. After leaving Russia, Pavel Durov chose Dubai as Telegram’s headquarters.
9. Pavel Durov has obtained French citizenship in 2021 and is also reported to hold citizenship in the United Arab Emirates.