Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission says that the arrest of Telegram’s CEO has nothing to do with DSA.
How Does the European Commission Separate Telegram CEO’s Arrest from the DSA?
The detention of Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram, on suspicion of letting criminal activity on his platform has nothing to do with the company’s commitments under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a spokesperson for the European Commission said.
“Criminal prosecution is not among the potential sanctions for a breach of the DSA. The DSA does not define what is illegal or establish any criminal offence and can therefore not be invoked for arrests. Only national [or international] laws that define a criminal offence can be invoked,” the spokesperson stated. “We are closely monitoring the developments related to Telegram and stand ready to cooperate with the French authorities should it be relevant,” the EU Commission added.
Russian-born Durov was apprehended after he flew into Le Bourget airport outside Paris on his personal jet. France arrested him on claims that the lack of moderators on Telegram permitted criminal activity, such as drug dealing and paedophile networking. Telegram has become a popular medium for selling hard drugs because of its end-to-end encrypted messaging, which makes it hard for law enforcement authorities to observe the activities of vendors. Law enforcement officers in countries including Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands stated in recent months that they have noticed a rise in online drug trafficking.
What Are the EU’s Transparency Requirements for Platforms Under the DSA?
The app has more than 900 million active monthly users globally, the app stated in February that it has 41 million monthly average users in the EU. If it gives the threshold of 45 million users per month, it will be deemed a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the DSA and face the strictest transparency requirements.
As a shorter platform, it needs to enforce measures such as complaint and dispute resolution mechanisms, control repeat offenders from uploading prohibited content, and enforce transparency measures under EU rules.
How Is Telegram Responding to Allegations of Criminal Activity on Its Platform?
Telegram stated in a response that it “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry norms and constantly improving.” “It is ridiculous to claim that a platform or its owner is liable for the abuse of that platform,” the statement stated. Telegram picked Belgium as its legal representation in the EU in May, suggesting that the national telecom regulator BIPT is charged with overseeing the platform’s observation with the DSA until it becomes a VLOP.
A spokesperson for BIPT said that “the BIPT is neither a police administration nor a judicial authority and was therefore not interested in the criminal investigation by the French authorities.”
