In Wednesday’s statement, the Paris prosecutors said Mr Durov was put under formal investigation over alleged offences that included:
Complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable illicit transactions by an organised gang
Refusal to communicate with authorities
Complicity in organised criminal distribution of sexual images of children
In France, being put under formal investigation does not imply guilt or necessarily result in a trial – but it indicates that judges consider there is enough of a case to proceed with an investigation.
Mr Durov has so far made no public comments on the latest developments.
His lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, said Telegram complied in every respect with European digital regulations and was moderated to the same standards as other social networks.
It was “absurd” to suggest his client could be involved “in criminal acts that don’t concern him either directly or indirectly”, he added.
It is unprecedented for the owner of a social media platform to be arrested because of the way in which that platform is being used, and it has fuelled a fierce debate online about freedom of speech and accountability.
We have previously seen tech bosses hauled in front of lawmakers for confrontational grillings about their practices and failings, but not met by law enforcement at airports.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has defended Mr Durov, arguing that moderation is a “propaganda word” for censorship. He has called for Mr Durov’s release.
Chris Pavlovski, the founder of a controversial video-sharing app called Rumble, said he had fled Europe following Mr Durov’s detention.
While most of the world’s largest social networks do engage with national and international bodies when it comes to serious criminal offences such as the sharing of child sexual abuse images, Telegram is accused of ignoring them.
The firm, which is now headquartered in Dubai, insists that its moderation tools meet industry standards.
French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that France was deeply committed to freedom of expression, and that the decision to hold Mr Durov was “in no way… political”.
Huge groups of up to 200,000 people can share and comment on information and content on Telegram – WhatsApp on the other hand limits its maximum group size to just over 1,000.
While Telegram messages can be encrypted, meaning that only the sender and recipient can view them, this is not activated by default and has to be manually switched on to private chats.
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