AMNA NAWAZ: The arrest of Telegram's CEO and# founder this week has reignited concerns about## the balance of free speech and the responsibility# that comes with running social platforms.

Telegram, founded in 2013, now# has more than 900 million users,## making it among the most popular# messaging services in the world.

Stephanie Sy has the latest.

STEPHANIE SY: French authorities have charged# Telegram founder Pavel Durov with several## offenses related to his messaging app.

The charges# include complicity in the distribution of child## abuse images, drug trafficking and failure# to comply with law enforcement requests.

Durov, who operates Telegram from Dubai,# was apprehended over the weekend and was## ordered to pay five million euros for bail.

The# arrest of the Russian-born tech billionaire has## sparked a free speech rallying cry in some# circles and has raised questions about how## other social media executives may be# held accountable for their platforms.

Joining me to discuss the implications# of this arrest is Pranshu Verma,## technology reporter for The Washington Post.

Pranshu, thank you so much# for joining the "News Hour."

Before we get into the ramifications of# this arrest, tell us why Telegram is in law## enforcement's bullseye and what brought about this# unprecedented arrest of the company's founder?

PRANSHU VERMA, The Washington Post: So# Telegram is a wildly popular messaging app,## mostly in places like Russia,# the Middle East, and South Asia.

About 950 million people use it.

And it's a way# to send private chats or public broadcasting## messages to large -- hundreds of thousands# of people.

And it's also a way to send## individual kind of encrypted chats as well.

So# it melds two types of messaging into one app.

And now this kind of app is pretty# good in some ways, for example,## if you're a dissident and you want to organize# a protest against an authoritarian government.## But it's also become an app where some# of the worst activity online kind of## has become a haven for it, such as the# sharing of child sexual abuse imagery.

And so that's kind of what's made Telegram into# the bullseyes of the French authorities now,## is that they are basically saying that the owner# of Telegram, Pavel Durov, is complicit in making## Telegram spread child sex abuse imagery, kind of# spread organized crime, and also not complying## with law enforcement when law enforcement# wants user data about criminal activity.

And so, as you saw this weekend, this# all culminated into a head when Pavel## Durov landed in France outside of# a Paris airport and was arrested## and has now been issued charges# around these types of activities.

STEPHANIE SY: But the other platforms,# as you know, including platforms like## Facebook and Instagram, have also been# accused of having nefarious activities,## including sexual abuse imagery# of children, extremism, scammers.

How is this different?

How does Durov differ# from his peers when it comes to that?

Do the## other platforms, for example, cooperate much# more with governments and law enforcement?

PRANSHU VERMA: There's no# doubt that platforms like## Meta and Twitter do host similar types of content.

But what Telegram is very specifically# known for, it actually boasts about is## its reluctance and often complete noncompliance# with law enforcement in sharing user data.

So## even if a law enforcement official comes to# Telegram, it is their policy as they boast## about even on their own site to not share# zero bytes of data with government to date.

And that's what makes it really# different from all the other tech## companies is that kind of strong noncompliance.

STEPHANIE SY: Elon Musk and other tech giants have# posted their support of Mr. Pavel on X. Musk did.## And a lot of people are asking what his arrest# means for the heads of other similar platforms.

Should folks like Mark Zuckerberg, for example,# be concerned about facing similar accusations?## And could you see him being arrested# if he travels to Europe?

And do you## see these charges being levied against# a tech executive in the United States?

PRANSHU VERMA: Yes, this is the big question# here.

It's opened up a can of worms.

Are the people who own the tech companies liable# for the content that is on their platforms?

Now,## in the United States, there's a rule# in law that shields companies from## being held liable for the content# that they have put on their sites.

But in Europe, there is a little bit more# of a strength around holding tech companies## accountable.

And you have seen now, in this# case, kind of the most muscular act to date## of a government official -- of a government# holding a private official of a company to## account.

And it is unlikely that we would see# it in the United States where somebody like a## Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk is detained# for what is on Facebook or on Twitter.

But now the question becomes, what happens if# that activity happens in Europe or elsewhere,## and will governments kind of respond in# kind?

And we don't know the answer yet.

STEPHANIE SY: That is The Washington# Post's Pranshu Verma joining us.

Thank you so much.

PRANSHU VERMA: Thank you.