Pavel Durov, CEO of the social media platform Telegram was arrested at Paris Airport over allegations that the platform is being used for illicit activities such as drug trafficking, distribution of child sexual abuse images, and his alleged failure to cooperate with the law.

The 39-year-old Russian-born founder, who arrived in Paris on a private jet from Azerbaijan, remains in custody as a part of an investigation initiated by OFMIN, the French agency responsible for combating violence against minors.

Pawan Duggal, Cyber law expert and advocate said, “This is a classical case where the French authorities had been seeing that Telegram has been used extensively for the purposes of committing various illegal activities. And, unfortunately, there was not a, not adequate moderation, or shall I say, compliances from the perspective of Telegram. And that’s the reason why such an arrest warrant was issued. And consequently, the founder was arrested. The bottom line is very clear that you cannot today’s, in interconnected today’s world, argue that I’m not located in your country. And hence I don’t comply with your law.”

Telegram, which has close to 1 billion users, was created by Durov and his brother in 2013 in Russia.

Durov fled Russia in 2014 in search of a new home for his company, trying out cities including Berlin, Singapore and San Francisco, before settling in Dubai.

The popular application known for its end-to-end encryption has drawn criticism for facilitating criminal activities and extremist content. Telegram remains a vital communication tool, especially in Russia, Ukraine, and other conflict zones.

Pawan Duggal also added by saying, “The cybercriminals have realised that Telegram has become a very important or a convenient platform for the purposes of committing illegal activities. And that’s the reason why we’ve seen a massive increase of these cyber frauds using the Telegram route. So many people are now used to invest into Ponzi schemes and they’re asked to come to a Telegram group and low and behold, then everybody in the Telegram group is talking about the goodness of the concerned company who is able to give three times a return than what the normal people are giving, and a variety of illegal stuff. So the moderation is missing.”

Russian government officials have expressed outrage at his detention, with some calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that Durov’s arrest wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation. saying that France is “deeply committed” to freedom of expression but those “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”

In light of Durov’s arrest, the IT Ministry has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs for an update on where things stand in the Indian context and if there are any violations here as well, according to sources.