In the war for control of the internet, the potential significance of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest is difficult to overstate.
At the heart of French authorities’ case against the Russian-born billionaire is an enormously consequential question: are online platforms legally responsible for the speech of their users?
Prosecutors say Durov was detained as part of an investigation involving 12 criminal allegations, most of them related to “complicity” in serious crimes ranging from drug trafficking to the distribution of child sex abuse material.
While governments around the world have for years sought to exert…
