French President Macron denies arresting Telegram founder Pavel Durov for political reasons, after the US government repeatedly wanted to take over Telegram

French President Emmanuel Macron has clarified that the arrest of Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, is not politically driven.

In an August 26 post on X (formerly Twitter), Macron stated that Durov's arrest, which took place on August 24 at Le Bourget airport, is part of a broader judicial investigation.

Macron’s statement aims to dispel false information circulating on social media, which suggests that Durov's arrest may involve violations against free speech.

Despite the ongoing speculation about the charges, the French President insists the arrest is purely legal.

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Telegram's Response

Telegram, in a statement on August 25, expressed support for its founder and hoped for a swift resolution.

The messaging platform has not provided further details about the circumstances leading to Durov's detention.

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The US government wants to intervene in telegram

In a recent interview, Durov claimed that the FBI and other US security agencies have shown unwanted interest in Telegram.

He alleges that during a visit to the US, cybersecurity officers attempted to recruit one of his engineers, seeking information on Telegram’s open-source libraries.

Durov also mentioned frequent questioning by FBI agents about the operations of Telegram.

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Discussion of Telegram privacy features

The controversy surrounding Durov's arrest has reignited debates about Telegram’s privacy features.

An X post from GrapheneOS, a privacy-focused mobile operating system, raised concerns about Telegram’s encryption practices.

The post claims Telegram lacks proper end-to-end encryption for group chats, and its secret chat feature may have vulnerabilities.

It also suggests that Telegram could potentially provide user data to authorities, including messages from both individual and group chats.