Last night the founder Telegram messenger Pavel Durov was detained by French authorities on the runway of Le Bourget airport, near Paris. The incident caused a wave of concern among users and led to rumors about the possible closure of Telegram.
About whether they really can close Telegram, against the backdrop of Durov's arrest, reports “URA-Inform”, citing “RBK-Ukraine”.
Despite various media reports claiming that sanctions against Telegram may be introduced, no French or international publication has confirmed official EU plans to impose such measures to date. The source in the European Commission cited by these reports remains unnamed, making such claims unreliable.
Whether Pavel Durov’s arrest could lead to Telegram’s closure requires careful consideration. Telegram was designed with decentralization in mind, meaning that the service does not rely on a single person. The messenger’s servers are located in different parts of the world, and their management is distributed among several teams. This makes Telegram resistant to attempts to close it based on a single legal decision.
Countries also have different laws on how to block messengers. In some countries, banning Telegram may be virtually impossible, while in others, such measures may be applied more harshly. However, blocking Telegram on a global level is a technically difficult task. Users tend to find ways to bypass such restrictions, which complicates control over this messenger.
At the same time, we cannot rule out the possibility of partial blocking or increased control over the service in some countries, especially in the context of increasing pressure from the authorities.
It is worth adding that Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson eloquently responded to the arrest of Pavel Durov in France.