“Civil society has had a complicated relationship with Telegram for years,” says Natalia Kapriva, a lawyer at the digital rights group Access Now. “We have defended Telegram against attempts by authoritarian regimes to block and force the platform to provide encryption keys, but we have also raised alarms about Telegram’s lack of a human rights policy, a reliable communication channel and remedies for its users.” Kapriva emphasizes that French authorities may try to force Durov to provide Telegram’s encryption keys to decrypt private messages, “something Russia has already tried to do in the past.”
The hashtag #FreePavel is spreading across the internet, including via X CEO Elon Musk, who has repeatedly posted about Durov’s arrest. “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe, and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he wrote Saturday evening in response to a post about the Telegram CEO’s detention. “The need to protect free speech has never been more urgent,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who endorsed Donald Trump for president on Friday, wrote on X, where he called Telegram “uncensored” and “encrypted.”
While Telegram is often described as an encrypted messaging app, messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted by default, and senior executives have previously told WIRED that they see the platform as a social network. This is largely due to channels, a one-to-many broadcast feature that allows an unlimited number of subscribers to view posts.
One of the most popular posts on X was from right-wing former Fox News journalist Tucker Carlson, who referenced the oft-repeated but controversial story that Durov left Russia because the government was trying to seize his company. “But ultimately, it wasn’t Putin who arrested him for giving people freedom of speech. It was a Western country.” Carlson wrote in a post that has been viewed at least 5.7 million times so far. Carlson also included a link to an hour-long interview he gave with Durov earlier this year, one of the first and only interviews the Telegram CEO has given in recent years.
In Durov’s absence, Telegram’s future seems uncertain to some: “I am in shock, and everyone close to Pavlov feels the same way,” says Georgy Lobushkin, former head of PR at VK, the social network co-founded by Durov, who still maintains regular contact with Durov. “No one was prepared for this situation.” Asked if he was worried about Telegram’s future and who might run the company in Durov’s absence, Lobushkin says: “[I] “I worry a lot.”
TF1Info, which first reported Durov’s arrest in France, said there was “no doubt” Durov would remain in custody during the investigation. “Pavel Durov will be remanded in custody, that’s for sure,” one of the anonymous investigators told reporters.
“Nobody at Telegram was prepared for this scenario,” says Anton Rozenberg, who worked with Durov since VK’s early days in 2007 before working for Telegram from 2016 to 2017. Rozenberg predicted that Durov would get the best legal defense money could buy. “But without him, the messenger could have huge problems with management, all the key decisions, and even payments,” he added, considering Durov’s personal involvement in running the company. Rozenberg saw no obvious replacement for Durov, who makes key decisions on almost everything at Telegram — funding, development strategies, product design, monetization, and content moderation policies.
For now, it’s likely to be business as usual, says Elies Campo, who led Telegram’s growth, operations, and partnerships from 2015 to 2021. “Depending on how long this lasts, it’s like a government, right? There’s this structure, this self-propelling momentum.” Campo adds that the company’s staff is petite enough—around 60 employees—that its infrastructure won’t suffer.
Campo admits that the challenge would be requiring Durov to be physically present to pay service providers, something Rozenberg also noted.
“As far as I know, Pavel was making payments,” Campo says. “So what happens if there are payments to infrastructure providers or communications providers that need to be made—and he’s still arrested?”