Online content moderation is currently at the forefront of free speech and censorship debates. Typically, government entities rely on administrative lawsuits and fines to ensure that social media companies enforce their own standards of speech—from prohibiting child pornography to removing terrorist groups.

Two weeks ago, however, France took these efforts one step further and arrested Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov—Russian-born and a dual citizen of France and the United Arab Emirates—for his alleged failure to mitigate criminal activity on Telegram. Authorities released Durov on bail, but free speech advocates and social media platforms are on alert as the European Union pursues more aggressive forms of censorship.

Telegram, which boasts nearly 1 billion users worldwide, is the most secure social media and online messaging platform available. Established in 2013 to counter growing concern over government censorship and digital privacy, Telegram’s website boasts that it has “disclosed 0 bytes of user data to third parties, including governments.” With end-to-end encryption, even Telegram cannot access certain private messages between users. The platform ensures the least restrictive form of content moderation and employs an average of only 30 full-time engineers.

The importance of platforms like Telegram cannot be understated. In August alone, the United Kingdom arrested citizens for alleged “hate speech” online. Irish authorities arrested citizens for opposing higher rates of immigration and one teacher for his refusal to use a student’s “preferred pronouns.” Ahead of X hosting an interview with Donald Trump, the European Union sent a letter to Elon Musk threatening that he and his platform may be held liable for improper speech. And in the United States, Mark Zuckerberg confessed that Meta complied with pressure from the Biden-Harris administration to censor online content about COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election.

These are clear violations of free speech, especially in the United States. No entity or person has the right to limit speech for political gain. But not all concerns about online content are this straightforward.

Indeed, the basis of Durov’s arrest, according to French authorities, is the ongoing criminal activity on the platform. The European Union implemented the Digital Services Act in 2022, which “regulates online intermediaries and platforms such as marketplaces, social networks, content-sharing platforms.” French authorities claim and Telegram denies that the platform has not complied with requests to crack down on illegal activity.