Pavel Durov, the CEO and co-founder of the news and messaging app Telegram, has been charged in France with enabling numerous criminal transactions, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros ($555,750), according to French prosecutors Wednesday.
It marks one of the few instances in which the CEO of a major internet platform has been charged over alleged criminal failure to moderate what users do on its platform.
In a statement Wednesday, the Paris prosecutor’s office said that Telegram had almost completely failed to respond to its legal requests for user data in prosecuting cybercrime cases.
Prosecutors cited numerous offenses in Wednesday’s statement, including refusal to communicate with authorities and “complicity” in offenses related to child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking,
While Durov awaits trial, his bail is set at 5 million Euros ($5.6 million). He will be forbidden to leave France and will be required to report to the police, the release said.
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-charged-french-prosecutors-rcna168603
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