Telegram founder Pavel Durov has been arrested on August 24, triggering a major investigation in India over illegal activities on the platform. With 104 million users in India, the outcome could lead to a potential ban, impacting millions.
The investigation is based on the allegations Durov faces including illegal activities on the platform, gambling, and extortion.
The investigation is led by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. This investigation can result in Telegram’s blockage in India where 104 million people using the application.
Some of the customer feedback received n from users in India is that some of the candidates pointed out that they cannot get the Telegram Wallet feature anymore, which has, instead, an ‘unsupported region’ notification. However, some people complained that they still can use the wallet, without encountering any issues.
Impact of Drouv’s arrest on the community
The arrest of Durov has raised concerns in the crypto world with people reacting massively on social media platforms. However, on August 26, Telegram came to the defense of Durov stating that it was preposterous to argue that a platform or its owner was in some way accountable for instances of abuse on the platform.
The company insists that it operates in compliance with all the EU laws such as the Digital Services Act and its content moderation policies are at par with the best standards in the market though it continues to review and improve the policies.
The arrest was carried out and ordered by L’Office Mineurs which is an investigating agency in France that deals with offenses against minors. The agency obtained a search warrant during an investigation of other crimes involving alleged drug trafficking, fraud, organized crime, terrorism as well as distribution of materials containing child abuse on Telegram.
The French officials have also cited that the lack of restriction in content moderation makes these illegitimate activities easily visible.
Speaking about Durov’s arrest, Emmanuel Macron, the French Prime Minister, explained, that it was not a political process and French judges will make their decision based on the law in regards to this person.
