Rumble boss ‘departed’ from Europe after Telegram CEO arrest
Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski said he “departed from Europe” after French police arrested Telegram’s CEO and the country “threatened” the video-sharing site.
In May, Pavlovski also claimed Russia blocked Rumble because it “refused to comply with their censorship demands.”
Source: Chris Pavlovski
He did not share what country he had left and his current whereabouts. Rumble did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rumble is a video-sharing platform based in Florida and Ontario. It is known for its more lenient content moderation policies compared to larger social media companies like Meta and Google, and has attracted a significant following, particularly among conservative users.
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The police investigation is reportedly focused on Telegram’s alleged failure to cooperate with law enforcement and lack of moderation for crimes on its platform, including child sexual abuse content, drug trafficking, fraud and terrorism.
- In a statement, Telegram said it abides by European Union laws and its moderation “is within industry standards and constantly improving.” It added that Durov “has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe.”
French authorities have not publicly released a statement on Durov’s arrest but are expected to on Monday, Aug. 26.
26 Aug, 2024 07:39
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Rumble boss flees EU after Durov arrest
Chris Pavlovski’s video hosting platform has been embroiled in a long-running legal battle with the French authorities
Durov was taken into custody at a Paris airport on Saturday evening after arriving from Azerbaijan by private jet.
- While the French authorities have yet to publicly announce the reason for detaining the Russian tech mogul, reports indicate that the charges are related to his alleged complicity in drug trafficking, pedophilia offenses, fraud, as well as failure to address criminal activity on the messenger.
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”Rumble will not stand for this behavior and will use every legal means available to fight for freedom of expression, a universal human right. We are currently fighting in the courts of France, and we hope for Pavel Durov’s immediate release,” he added.
Pavlovski’s platform, which has positioned itself as a free speech alternative to YouTube, has been embroiled in its own legal battle with the French authorities. It began in November 2022 after officials in Paris banned Rumble over its refusal to comply with a request to remove Russian media accounts blocked in the EU due to sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.
Though Durov’s arrest occurred in France, a number of opinion leaders, including American entrepreneur David Sacks, have suggested that the US was behind the move.
In April, Sacks also predicted that Washington could go after Telegram, X, and eventually Rumble, given that the US passed a law that would ban the video-sharing platform TikTok if its Chinese-based developer, ByteDance, refused to sell it within 12 months.
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