We Stand with Durov: Telegram Founder Charged over Censorship Compliance, Faces 20 years Jail Term
Pavel Duroz, founder of the popular social media platform, Telegram, and blockchain network TON was arrested at the French airport, Le Bourget on landing from Azerbaijan at about 18:00 GMT by the French police. His arrest was due to his negligence and failure to corporate with authorities in regulating posts that facilitates criminal activities as reported by the French media.
The cryptocurrency community has however expressed dissatisfaction regarding this development. With many taking to X formerly known as Twitter to make known their displeasure. #FreeDurov has been trending on the X space in show of support for the Telegram CEO. Several projects using the telegram bot app has also joined this show of solidarity. The Hamster Kombat team in show of support released a card with the free Durov hashtag.
We Stand with Durov: Why the Support for Durov within the Crypto Community?
Telegram, which is founded by Pavel has become the hub for cryptocurrency projects. The platform supports the running of mini apps which is used by developers to secure a community for their projects through the introduction of games and farming systems on the applications.
The telegram platform has the TON network, a blockchain network, integrated within its ecosystem, with the telegram wallet also serving as a custodian wallet for the TON network.
There is also the presence of projects not built on TON network, but willing to leverage on the telegram cryptocurrency ecosystem to support individual mini app projects.
The telegram platform has been built to support the involvement and growth of cryptocurrency and the blockchain industry. Leveraging on the social media’s ability to form communities and the cryptocurrency world’s need for communities. And modeling the telegram platform into an ecosystem for combining proponents that’ll push innovative ideas of crypto builders with communities, together. Forming a strong partnership through the rewards system of builders for communities for indulging in project.
Pavel’s influence in embracing features that’ll be useful for community members and blockchain builders as well as his unwillingness to censor the platform makes him a cult hero in the cryptocurrency world. With his stance celebrated as symbol for decentration, a concept that challenges the central structure and power of the centralized governing system.
We Stand with Durov: Beyond the Crypto Space
Pavel Durov’s arrest has now gathered lots of attention beyond the cryptocurrency space. With lots of celebrities and industry key players offering their support by pushing for the idea on privacy and freedom of speech.
Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, an automotive and clean energy company in the United States, has voiced his support for Durov. In a tweet shared on his X page, Musk accused authorities on clamping down on free speech. He also gave his support with the #FreePavel hashtag. And shared with it a short clip of Durov’s interview with Tucker Carlson. Writing in another post, “Libert Libert! Libert?” “Dangerous times“.
Musk is himself a cryptocurrency player through his backing of doge and a few other projects, as well as a strong supporter of free speech. Through his social media space, X, he has kept strongly with pushing his ideologies to the world, by tweeting these ideas including crypto related thoughts and his stance on free speech.
Pavel has himself praised Musk for his advocacy on free speech. Praising Musk’s efforts in his interview with Tucker Carlson for making X a platform that embraces the freedom of speech concept.
Durov’s Standoff with Authorities
Pavel has had a previous involvement with police in a 2011 standoff with the Russian police at Saint Petersburg in 2011. With demands for the removal of opposition politicians’ pages after the 2011 election. His response was an unanswered door and a posted wearing a hoodie with tongues out.
He also refused to hand over personal data of Ukrainian protesters against pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in April 2014. He instead tagged the order as unlawful in his VKontakte VK page.
Pavel Durov formed the VKontakte VK social media platform and had its domain name VKontakte.ru registered in October 2006. He also had it registered as a Russian private limited company in January 2007. The social media platform popularly tagged as the Russian Facebook amassed about a million users in July 2007 and 10 million users in April 2008.
He was however dismissed as CEO of VK on 21st April 2014. A move he considered to be orchestrated by Putin’s allies. The company however noted that it acted on his letter of resignation earlier that month which he had failed to recall. Pavel had on 1st April submitted a resignation letter to the VK board. Which he later stated on 3rd April to be an April Fool’s joke.
Currently been held by the French authorities, Telegram has come out to back their CEO by insisting that he has nothing to hide. Despite the French authorities extending his detention. His detention is considered to be part of an ongoing investigation alleged to be linked to the operations of Telegram.
Symbol of a Fight Against Centralized Powers
For so long, the ideas that binds the decentralization narrative has involved the concentration and display of power in the hands of a few. Pavel Durov’s detainment has heightened claims of suppression by centralized groups over more expressiveness and general involvement.
#FreeDurov has become a symbol for the struggle against centralized powers. Uniting the voices of all forms of decentralization advocates and movements towards the release of Pavel.