The arrest of Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov in Paris over the weekend shocked the world. No charges have yet been filed, but media reports say an arrest warrant has been issued for Durov as part of an investigation into “fraud, drug trafficking, organized crime, promoting terrorism, and cyberbullying” on the platform — extremely serious crimes that the tech CEO is accused of willfully failing to prevent.
The damage this does to France's image in the eyes of the tech and entrepreneurial community is enormous. Sean Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, posed a counterfactual question, posting online: “In 1994, Vint Cerf and Rob Kahn had just been arrested. Their invention (TCP/IP) was being used by drug dealers to communicate with each other, and they didn't want to install a backdoor.”
Maguire's tweet suggests not only that France holds free speech in low regard, but that the French government's stance on technology could lead to serious criminal prosecutions for those who develop communication platforms. The conclusion is pretty straightforward: the tech industry should avoid France and, when considering doing business there, consider it the same as authoritarian countries like China.
Perhaps the US found out about Durov's arrest before it was made public. It also seems Washington understands how good it would be for the US if France were to tarnish its image among tech entrepreneurs. French engineers and entrepreneurs have every incentive to emigrate to the US, where the rule of law is protected. In fact, while European media was making headlines about nefarious activity on Telegram, The New York Times ran an article positioning Durov's arrest as part of a debate on freedom of speech. As Europe sinks underwater, the US is preparing to become a bastion of business freedom.
