Nigel Farage has cautioned that Elon Musk may be in trouble following the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app.
Durov, a Russian billionaire, had been travelling to France from Azerbaijan on his private jet when French police targeted him as part of a preliminary investigation. He will appear in court at a later date after being detained by police at Le Bourget airport.
No official reason has been given for his arrest, however, local media has said it was linked to his app, which has become the main Russian channel for conveying news on the Ukraine war.
Farage, leader of Reform UK, has warned that the arrest could be a deterrent against free speech.
Nigel Farage has cautioned that Elon Musk may soon be arrested Getty/XWriting on X, owned by billionaire Musk, he said: “The arrest of Pavel Durov is worrying.
“Telegram is a secure free speech app. It may have some bad actors, but then all platforms do.
“What next... the arrest of Elon Musk?”
News broadcasters BFMTV and TF1 have quoted unnamed sources as saying the Russian-born entrepreneur was the subject of a search warrant.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, has been arrested in France
Getty
The arrest of Pavel Durov is worrying.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) August 25, 2024
Telegram is a secure free speech app. It may have some bad actors, but then all platforms do.
What next... the arrest of Elon Musk?
Both outlets have said the investigation into Pavel - who became a French citizen in 2021 - was centred on the lack of moderators on the app, as well as users engaging in criminal activity.
Neither French police, the Interior Ministry, nor Telegram have commented on those claims.
Musk, who purchased X - formally known as Twitter - in 2022, has voiced his support for Durov.
The 39-year-old, who is one of the world’s wealthiest people, used the hashtag #FreePavel and retweeted posts slamming the arrest.
X owner Elon MuskGetty“It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” Musk wrote
.He also posted a message from his AI system Grok on his X account, with the mocking caption: “Check out this ad for the First Amendment. It is very convincing.”
In the post, Musk asked the bot if Pavel was arrested in Paris, and the AI server responded with details about the incident at Bourget Airport.
Pavel, also the owner and chief executive of Telegram, left Russia in 2014 after losing control of his previous social media company Vkontakte (VK).
He has consistently positioned Telegram as a champion of free speech. In an interview with Tucker Carlson in April, Durov said he was determined to keep platform "neutral" and "free from geopolitics".