Document Type

Blog Post

Publication Date

11-18-2024

Abstract

On August 24, 2024, Pavel Durov, the CEO of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested in Paris. French authorities have charged him with various crimes, including complicity in the distribution of child pornography, the sale of illegal drugs, and the distribution of hacking software. Durov is banned from leaving France and must check in at a police station twice a week. If convicted, Durov faces a ten-year prison sentence. French prosecutors are holding Durov criminally liable for permitting criminal activity to go unchallenged on Telegram. This indictment is possible under France’s LOPMI law, which was passed in January 2023. Under LOPMI, a person is liable for “complicity in the administration of an online platform to allow an illicit transaction, in an organised gang.’” LOPMI, which currently has no equivalent in other countries’ legal systems, “criminalises tech titans whose platforms allow illegal products or activities.” While “holding executives at social networks criminally liable for content that appears on sites was, until now, considered almost unthinkable,” Telegram’s approach to compliance with government requests for information and cooperation is exceptional. France is seeking to send a message: tech executives are responsible for activity on their platforms.

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