Pavel DurovThe platform’s founder and CEO, was arrested in Paris over the weekend on allegations that his platform is being used for illicit activities such as drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images.
In India, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), is leading the investigation. The probe began after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) asked the MHA to look into allegations of illegal content on the platform, ranging from fraud, extortion, drugs and gambling, which users are sharing without any oversight from the platform.
The investigation has not yet reached definitive conclusions against Telegram.
This situation is similar to that expressed by the French authorities. The OFMIN, a French agency that acts to prevent crimes against minors, had issued an arrest warrant against Durov.
In a statement posted on its platform, Telegram said it complies with EU laws and that its content moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.” Durov, the company added, “has nothing to hide and frequently travels around Europe.”
Telegram is an app that allows for one-on-one conversations, group chats, and large “channels” that allow people to broadcast messages to their subscribers. Unlike its rivals, such as Meta’s WhatsAppTelegram group chats can accommodate up to 200,000 people, compared to WhatsApp’s maximum of 1,024. Experts have expressed concern about the ease with which misinformation can spread in group chats of this size.
Telegram claims to have more than 950 million active users. It is widely used in France as a messaging tool, including by some officials in the presidential palace and the ministry behind the investigation into Durov. But French investigators have also found that the app has been used by Islamic extremists and drug traffickers.
(With contributions from AP)
Read also: Telegram CEO arrested: Experts say lack of moderation is not the same as free speech
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