Elon Musk Voices Concern Over Telegram CEO's Arrest in France, Sparking Free Speech Debate

Elon Musk calls for release of Telegram founder Pavel Durov as arrest sparks debate whether X owner may be next

X owner Elon Musk has sprung to the defense of the founder of controversial messaging app Telegram, calling for the 39-year-old to be released from French custody. The spectacular arrest of Pavel Durov on the tarmac of Paris's Le Bourget airport just after his private jet touched down on Saturday elicited an intense debate over where exactly the boundaries of protected free speech end and the rule of law begins. Durov is being held in France initially without formal charges, but authorities could accuse the Telegram founder of failing to police illegal content and commerce conducted via Telegram. Musk's X is likewise in the crosshairs of European policymakers, with the EU Commission recently reminding him of its failure to observe the Digital Services Act that requires large platform owners to systematically clamp down on false and misleading content. The entrepreneur, who is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, called on France to "free Pavel", warning his arrest signalled dangerous times ahead for democracy. "The 2nd amendment is the only reason long-term that the 1st amendment will be upheld," he added, referring to the constitutionally-protected right in the United States to bear arms and exercise free speech. Musk increasingly casts himself as someone trying to stem a rising tide of censorship and government overreach. The X owner, earlier this month, threw a vulgar insult at Brussels for its perceived heavy handed approach to regulation. (Musk has, as of now, yet to criticize China, the manufacturing hub for half of Tesla cars). Chris Pavlovski, CEO of YouTube rival Rumble, used similarly blunt language after claiming to have "safely" departed European soil. "France has threatened Rumble, and now they have crossed a red line by arresting Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly for not censoring speech," he posted on Sunday. It's unclear what Pavlovski was doing in Europe, and he did not respond to a request from Fortune for comment. This year has been one of the biggest tests for democracy in recent memory, with elections held in countries comprising more than half the world's population. Election integrity has therefor been a major concern across the political spectrum. Regulators like the EU Commission have been particularly sensitive to the risk that hoaxes can spread instantly across social media like Telegram or X where there is little to no oversight or accountability. In a statement, Telegram countered allegations of presumed wrongdoing by saying Durov had "nothing to hide" and claimed the Dubai resident with French citizenship regularly travels to Europe, pushing back against the notion he had only now been arrested after finally stepping on EU soil. Nigel Farage, the head of the populist Reform Party in the UK and a close associate of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, conceded that bad apples are common on social media platforms like Telegram. "The arrest of Pavel Durov is worrying," he posted. "What next... the arrest of Elon Musk?" Alexander Vindman, the retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel that testified as a key witness in Trump's first impeachment, wrote that Durov's case had broader implications for social media sites like X. "There's a growing intolerance for platforming disinfo & malign influence & a growing appetite for accountability," he wrote. "Musk should be nervous." Last month, Musk posted a deepfake video with an AI-generated voiceover of Kamala Harris calling herself a diversity hire and Biden senile. The post didn't explicitly mention the use of AI in what some argued was a violation of X's his own terms of service against manipulating content for the purposes of deception. Musk later shared a fabricated story purportedly by UK daily newspaper The Telegraph reporting that British rioters would be deported to the Falkland Islands, near Argentina. The Tesla CEO quietly deleted the post, which racked up millions of views, after he was called out for distributing disinformation. "Propaganda isn't just about creating fake news," Musk would go on to explain last week, without referring to any specific incident. "It's also about hiding real news." Musk's stewardship of X is turning into a financial disaster for the entrepreneur. According to internal company figures cited by the New York Times, U.S. revenue in Q2 plunged to $114 million, representing a steep 84% decline over pre-Musk Twitter just two years prior. Fidelity has taken a massive charge on the value of its private investment in X, while money managers are treating the company's debt as if it was radioactive. A consortium of banks that underwrote Musk's October 2022 buyout have been unable to offload nearly $13 billion of leveraged loans still sitting on their book

Is X Next After Telegram Crackdown? Elon Musk Agrees

TikTok, Telegram, X, and Rumble are reportedly on governement's target. The arrest of billionaire Pavel Durov, co-founder of privacy messaging app Telegram, has sparked an outcry over censorship of free speech and the rise in authoritarianism. Elon Musk, flag bearer of free speech and freedom of rights on X, agreed with American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy that the social media platform could be the next target. Also, it has raised concerns about the government's control and overregulation of technology. Pro-Bitcoin Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in a post expressed his concern about Pavel Durov's arrest at the airport in Paris, France. He said "It's Telegram today. It'll be X tomorrow." His post sparked debate after Elon Musk agreed with Ramaswamy. Elon Musk is actively protesting the censorship of free speech in the case on the X platform. According to Musk, "Moderation is a propaganda word for censorship." People use X as it claims to value freedom of expression and privacy while defending the rights of people, as per the platform's rules and policies. Elon Musk in a post on X also shared Durov's interview where he shared how the US government and the FBI poached one of the engineers of Telegram to provide backdoor access to the messaging app data. Tom Shaughnessy, co-founder of crypto analytics firm Delphi Digital, said Pavel Durov's arrest for not censoring the the messaging app indicates the lengths governments will go to control information. He added that governments and regulators are likely to go after artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), which democratize information at scale by making it accessible to a broader audience. American venture capital investor Tim Draper also joined others in the campaign to release Durov. He said France has erased all hard work it put into the Olympics with "one stupid act of authoritarianism." Interestingly, the campaign continues to gain support globally, from tech industry leaders to political figures. Along with X executive chairman Elon Musk, other notable personalities such as RFK Jr. have come in support of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, criticizing the move by the French government. The French magistrate has extended Durov's detention by 96 hours, after the recent allegations. Durov was detained in connection to French authorities' investigation into his alleged involvement in facilitating criminal activities through his messaging platform. This includes terrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering allegations. As per France's President Emmanuel Macron, the information shared regarding France is false, the country is "deeply committed to freedom of expression." "Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe," Telegram spokesperson said on Monday. "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform." The platform noted that its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. Durov's case had broader implications for platforms such as Elon Musk's X and Rumble. The governments are banning or taking down support for companies and platforms based on various allegations. Venture capitalist David Sachs, co-host of The All In Podcast, reiterated that the government's recent censorship drive will kill platforms. He added that X and Rumble are the next target and regulators will go deeply to gain control over the information. The revenue of X dropped 40% in the first six months after Elon Musk took over the company, as per a recent report. Musk's goal to turn the platform into an everything app and the exodus of advertisers have impacted the company, but the expected launch of the payments service this year has raised some hope. While the free speech-focused tech companies face challenges, the crypto industry building on decentralization and cryptography faces a higher degree of scrutiny. The tech and crypto industries are backing Republican candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance to address issues faced by the sectors. Notably, a censorship issue led to Elon Musk's X to exit Brazil this month. The social media platform announced its decision to shut down its business in the Latin American country with immediate effect.