Constitution
Telegram arrest exposes Deep State
The arrest of Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, exposes the Deep State for what they can do to people, and what they fear.
Over the weekend, the Deep State exposed itself and its worldwide reach as it never had before. French authorities arrested the founder and CEO of Telegram, the world’s most famous and consistent anti-censorship app. His arrest highlights not only the reach of the Deep State but also its deepest fear: information it cannot control. That arrest also makes the Election of 2024 more important than it already was.
Origins of Telegram
Telegram is one of several social media that pride themselves on refusing to censor anything. This, of course, means that Telegram is not “safe” for users needing someone to hold their hands. The best advice for any user of Telegram is: caveat auditor – let the hearer beware. Many of its channels pretend to offer investment advice. Others offer a conspiratorial view of the news, a view that might or might not have a sound theoretical basis.
For example, Iranian government sources have a channel, “Middle East Spectator,” that takes the view that the Fourth Arab-Israeli War began with either a false-flag pseudo-operation, or with a counterattack that was no more nor less than the just due of the Israeli government or even of all persons of Jewish persuasion or heritage. But it also carries channels by Robert Malone, inventor and now denouncer of mRNA vaccines, and Joseph R. Mercola, D.O. The platform let Laura Loomer have a channel when literally every other platform (except, ironically, Gab) expelled her. Dmitri Medvedev, and the Russian Foreign Ministry, also have channels. Any channel whose posts are entirely in a language other than the one native to a user, can link automatically to Yandex, the world’s favorite non-Alphabet machine translation engine.
Pavel Durov, 39, founded Telegram as a free-wheeling anti-censorship platform. As he once explained to Dmitri Medvedev, he won’t even cooperate with law-enforcement agencies investigating allegations of “serious crimes.” This could explain the presence of investment spam on the platform, for instance.
Once, quite a long time ago, I asked Durov why he did not want to cooperate with law enforcement agencies on serious crimes. “This is my principled position,” he said. “Then there will be serious problems in any country,” I told him. Dmitri Medvedev
The arrest of Pavel Durov
On the evening (Western European Summer Time) of August 24, elements of the Air Transport Gendarmerie arrested Durov literally as he stepped off a plane at Paris’ Le Bourget Airport. John Scott-Railton posted about the arrest on X:
Early official comments to French media suggest this follows from France’s displeasure with Telegram’s moderation & compliance with official requests(?). If so, I’m pretty sure this is an unprecedented action by a government against a large platform’s CEO.
Arrests of employees of big platforms over moderation & access are rare. For example, folks may recall a 2016 case where Brazil arrested a VP at Facebook for refusing to provide Brazilian police with access to WhatsApp. That said, it seems to me that threats to arrest platforms’ staff over moderation & official cooperation fights are increasing, especially from governments in some big markets.
The French site TF1/LCI will not always allow machine translation. A quoted machine translation of their article about the arrest reads:
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the encrypted messaging company Telegram, was arrested around 8:00 p.m. this Saturday evening when he got off his private jet on the tarmac at Le Bourget Airport. Aged 39, this Franco-Russian was accompanied by his bodyguard and a woman.
The arrest was carried out by gendarmes from the GTA (Air Transport Gendarmerie). Listed in the FPR (Wanted Person’s file), Pavel Durov arrived straight from Azerbaijan. He had above his head a French search warrant issued by the OFMIN of the national directorate of the French judicial police, issued on the basis of a preliminary investigation.
Why was he under threat of a search warrant?
Justice considers that the absence of moderation [or] cooperation with the police and the tools offered by Telegram (disposable number, cryptocurrencies, etc.) makes it complicit in drug trafficking, child crime offenses and fraud.
This search warrant ran if, and only if, Pavel Durov was on national territory. “He made a mistake this evening. We don’t know why … Was this theft just a stage, in any case, he’s safe!” slips a source close to the investigation to TF1/LCI. Since he knew he was persona non grata in France, Pavel Durov had the habit of traveling to the Emirates, to the countries of the former USSR, to Soutn America… He traveled very little in Europe and avoided the countries where Telegram is under surveillance.
And now?
Investigators from the ONAF (National Anti-Fraud Office attached to the Customs Directorate) notified him and placed him in police custody. He is expected to be presented to an investigating judge this Saturday evening before a possible indictment on Sunday for a multitude of offenses: terrorism, drugs, complicity, fraud, money laundering, concealment, child criminal content, etc.
“Pavel Durov will end up in pre-trial detension, that’s certain,” comments an investigator with TF1/LCI. “On his platform, he allowed countless offenses and crimes to be committed for which he did nothing to moderate or cooperate,” analyzes a source close to the matter.
His pre-trial detention following his indictment is in fact beyond any doubt. Pavel Durov, billionaire, has substantial means to escape and his guarantees of representation will hardly convince the judges.
A dragnet with international resonance
For investigators, this internationally resonant dragnet has various objectives. First, it makes it possible to kick in the anthill, impress and dissuade the perpetrators of crimes and misdemeanors who exchange, until now freely, on Telegram. Then, they aim to put pressure on European countries to increase joint work to reduce secure messaging on terrorist issues.
Indeed, Telegram is a hive for criminal content. Currently the platform is in the news with the illegal broadcast of Ligue 1 matches. But on this encrypted messaging, many accounts are used by organized crime. Beyond terrorism, the most dangerous child criminals communicate on Telegram to exchange content. “For years, it has become the Number 1 platform for organized rime,” comments an investigator.
And what does Pavel Durov have to say to the above, Thus far he has said nothing after his arrest. But in April, he told Tucker Carlson that the American FBI once tried to hire his engineer on the sly. They did this, Durov said, in order to open a “back door” into Telegram.
Faced with that, Durov “reconsidered” an earlier decision to headquarter the platform in San Francisco. Nor was this the first time. The FBI tried contacting him after the January 6 Event, to ask about communications among alleged “Capitol rioters.” Durov simply ignored them.
Mike Benz, founder and Executive Director of the Foundation for Freedom Online, suspects involvement by the U.S. State Department. But Russian authorities also want to talk to Durov – if the French will let them. They suspect that recruitment and operational communications for a recent sabotage/mass murder attack in Moscow occurred on Telegram.
Commentary on the arrest
In addition to Mike Benz, others, including officials, journalists, and platform operators, have commented on the arrest. Tucker Carlson addressed the irony of where the arrest occurred:
Pavel Durov left Russia when the government tried to control his social media company, Telegram. But in the end, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for allowing the public to exercise free speech. It was a western country, a Biden administration ally and enthusiastic NATO member, that locked him away. Pavel Durov sits in a French jail tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intel agencies. Darkness is descending fast on the formerly free world.
Dmitri Medvedev commented directly on Durov’s relations with his native Russia:
He considered that he had the biggest problems in Russia, and left, then also received citizenship / residence permit in other countries. I wanted to be a brilliant “man of the world” who lives well without a Homeland. Ubi bene ibi patria! [Literally, Where is my hometown?]
He miscalculated. For all our common enemies now, he is Russian – and therefore unpredictable and dangerous. Other blood. Definitely not Musk or Zuckerberg (by the way, actively cooperating with the FBI). Durov must finally understand that the Fatherland, like the times, is not chosen… Dmitri Medvedev
Elon Musk is furious.
In reply to the above, one user observed:
CSAM stands for Child Sexual Abuse Material. Whether that prevails on Instagram or not, would require a distinctly non-family-friendly search. But Instagram is definitely a hangout for seductive adult poseurs, usually trying to seduce other adults.
Chris Pavlovski, head of Rumble, is just as angry:
I’m a little late to this, but for good reason — I’ve just safely departed from Europe. France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram’s CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech.
Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release.
Andrew Torba, head of Gab, had a few words in brief posts.
But yesterday afternoon he posted a much longer arricle:
Is Telegram guilty or not guilty?
The allegations by the French OFMIN and ONAF might be true – or not. Most probably not, because one must assume that foreign governments follow Saul Alinsky’s Rule for Radicals about accusing one’s target of one’s own sins. OUR Rescue (formerly Operation Underground Railroad), the largest anti-pedophile network in the world, has said nothing about Pavel Durov’s arrest or the allegations against him of his involvement in, or facilitation of, child sexual trafficking.
Both Rumble and Gab have strict policies against pornography involving adult or child models. Absolutely any hint of child exploitation, or self-prostitution by adults, is anathema to the CEOs of both platforms. In addition, Gab strictly forbids the offering of investment advice on his platform, or anything involving “exploitation of animals.” This usually includes ivory poaching or other such activities.
Neither Torba nor Pavlovski has commented on the specific allegations against Durov.
Most people use Telegram as an ultra-secure version of X. (Signal, by comparison, is an ultra-secure video telephony and Short Message Service or “text” platform.) Those of us who encounter investment advice on the platform, usually ignore it, and sometimes report it. “Absence of moderation” is not true; if spam is reportable, then it is actionable.
Notice that the FBI was interested in internal dissent, not in child trafficking or even drug trafficking, nor in fraud. That further suggests that the allegations against Telegram and its users are false, and the French fabricated an excuse.
Why did Pavel Durov risk landing in France?
Recall that anonymous sources have already asked that very question. Durov knew he is a wanted man throughout most of Europe. Thus far no one has said a word about what caused him to land at Le Bourget. For that matter, no one has a clue to his actual destination, if it was not France. Could sabotage be the problem? No doubt the U.S. State Department might egg on the French. But they surely have their own reasons to weep and gnash their teeth at Telegram.
Emanuel Macron, President of France, denied a political motive.
I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov.
France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so.
In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.
It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law.
The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.
M. Macron, prière de cesser de me raconter des salades. Or in English, stop telling me lies.
But why would Durov take the risk? Might he have decided to dare the Deep State to expose itself? His age of 39 puts him in the “young and stupid” stage of adulthood. Or maybe he thought this was the only way to clear his name.
Who steals my purse steals trash. ‘Tis something, nothing.
‘Twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to thousands.
But he who filches from my my good name
robs me of that which enriches him not,
and makes me poor indeed. Othello III.iii.70-74
Note also: the allegations against him have their basis in:
- Alleged lack of moderation,
- Non-cooperation with police agencies, and
- Letting people pay in cryptocurrencies and specify “disposable” telephone numbers.
Those would never constitute “probable cause” before any U.S. magistrate judge whom authorities asked for a search warrant. These, then, are the real problems the French – and the Biden administration – have with Telegram. Remember: our State Department is involved. The more reason to vote them down this November.
Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.
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