Elon Musk, Vitalik Buterin and RFK highlight growing threat to free speech after Durov’s arrest

The number of celebrities and well-known public figures supporting Pavel Durov following his controversial arrest in France earlier this weekend has soared.

Some of them include Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy, Vitalik Buterin, Jackson Hinkle and Tucker Carlson.

Durov’s arrest

CryptoPotato reported the arrest of Durov in France today Saturday evening, which according to local media was because the popular messaging app it runs failed to moderate content. He faces up to 20 years in prison for possible crimes including money laundering, complicity, terrorism and narcotics.

Toncoin, a cryptocurrency project closely related to Telegram, experienced enhanced turbulence, especially its native token. TON plummeted more than 20% after the news, from more than $6.75 to less than $5.4.

The team behind the project explained their support for Durov and free speech in X, saying that “the TON community remains strong and fully operational.”

“As a community committed to free speech and decentralization, we stand firmly with Pavel during this difficult time. Pavel has been a committed advocate for these values, and we believe his efforts to promote an open and decentralized Internet will continue inspiring millions of people.” – read the post.

Free movement of Pavel

Being one of the most vocal defenders of free speech, Elon Musk was among the first to declare his support for Durov when he posted the hashtag “#FreePavel.” Staying true to his sarcastic nature in such situations, he later added: “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” referring to growing censorship on the continent.

Robert F. Kennedy, who on Friday dropped out of the US presidential race and endorsed Donald Trump, also weighed in on the matter, citing the importance of protecting free speech.

RFK to X

American journalist and political commentator Tucker Carlson, who had an interview with Durov earlier this year, said that it was not Putin and Russia that arrested the CEO of Telegram for “allowing the public to exercise freedom of expression”. It was a Western country, an ally of the Biden administration and an enthusiastic member of NATO, that shut it down.”

“Pavel Durov is sitting in a French prison tonight, a living warning to any platform owner who refuses to censor the truth at the behest of governments and intelligence agencies. Darkness is rapidly descending upon the world formerly free”.

Another American political commentator, Jackson Hinkle, presented an intriguing version of why Durov might have been arrested.

Jackson Hinkle in X

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that he previously criticized Telegram for “not being serious about encryption”. However, he emphasized the seriousness of the situation given the known information about Durov’s arrest.

“But (given the information available so far – the charge seems to be being ‘unmoderated’ and not giving up people’s data) this looks very bad and worrying for the future of software and freedom of communications in Europe “.

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