An analysis by the New York Times of over 3.2 million Telegram messages from 16,000 channels revealed that 1,500 are run by white supremacists, two dozen are involved in selling weapons, and at least 22 channels advertise drugs like MDMA, cocaine, and heroin for delivery.
In his first statement since his arrest, Durov took to Telegram to criticize France for arresting and charging him last month over the publication of extremist and illegal content on the messaging app. He stated, "Using outdated laws from the pre-smartphone era to hold a CEO accountable for third-party actions on the platform is a misguided approach."
Durov is now under investigation for six charges and has been prohibited from leaving France during the process, Beccuau stated on Wednesday night. He was arrested by French police at an airport near Paris on Saturday night.
Durov was traveling on his private jet when he was arrested at around 8 p.m. local time, according to TF1 TV. The 39-year-old was reportedly targeted by an arrest warrant in France while flying from Azerbaijan.
These new users came from across the globe -- 38 per cent from Asia, 27 per cent from Europe, 21 per cent from Latin America and eight per cent from MENA (Middle East and North Africa).
"Imagine dozens of employees working on just that full-time. I am happy to save Facebook tens of millions of dollars and give away our secret for free: respect your users," he said in a statement.
