Following the arrest of Pavel Durov, CEO of the encrypted messaging service Telegram, Chris Pavlovski, the creator and CEO of Rumble— a rival to YouTube that claims to be “immune to cancel culture”—announced that he had “left” Europe.
On August 25, Pavlovski, a Canadian national, posted on X stating that France’s detention of Durov was a “red line” and a “threat” to Rumble. He added that France’s actions had pushed him to depart from the continent. Rumble, which had previously stated its intention to appeal the French government’s request to ban “certain Russian news sources” made in November 2022, has since restricted access for French users.
Pavlovski revealed that Russia had blocked Rumble in May after the company refused to comply with their censorship demands. He expressed hope for Durov’s swift release and mentioned ongoing legal battles in French courts. Pavlovski did not disclose his current location or the country he had left.
Rumble, headquartered in Florida and Ontario, has attracted a substantial following, particularly among conservative users, due to its more lenient content moderation policies compared to major social media platforms like Meta and Google.
According to various news reports, French authorities detained Durov, a French citizen originally from Russia, at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on August 24. The arrest followed a warrant issued by the country’s judicial police after a preliminary investigation.
The police inquiry reportedly focuses on allegations that Telegram failed to cooperate with law enforcement and did not adequately moderate content related to abuse, drug trafficking, fraud, and terrorism.
Source: thenewscrypto