Tech Community Outrage Over Telegram Founder's Detention in France

The Russian-born billionaire founder and CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, was arrested by French authorities on Sunday. The detention has sparked widespread criticism from the tech community about digital privacy rights.

Durov, who was wanted in France, was taken into police custody outside Paris shortly after landing on the private jet. According to the French media, his detention is related to alleged offenses regarding the social media app.

Pavel Durov Arrest: Opinion of Tech and Industry Leaders

Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, has expressed his disapproval of European authorities after the arrest of the 39-year-old technology billionaire, describing it as an attack on free speech. Furthermore, in various posts, Musk demanded justice for Durov.

In addition, a post by American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy claimed, "It's Telegram today. It'll be X tomorrow." To which Elon Musk showed agreement, saying 'he's right.'

Former American NSA intelligence contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden was quick to condemn the arrest, tweeting: “First they came for Tiktok, and I did not speak out— Because I was not twelve years old. Then they came for Telegram, and I did not speak out— Because I was using some other app or something, I don't know. Then they came for literally every other platform for dissent, and I did not speak out— because, bro, how could I, that's the entire point. Wake up, wake up, wa—,” the 41-year-old wrote.

The tech community has thrown its support to Durov, showing criticism against the Macron government as an infringement on digital privacy rights. Global discussion about how to strike a balance between personal privacy and national security has been ignited by the encrypted messaging scandal and France's whistleblower arrest.