Current Affairs: Passage of the Day - 27 August 2024 | Current Affairs & General Knowledge - CLAT PDF Download

Directions: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Prosecutors in France said on Monday that Pavel Durov, the entrepreneur who runs the Telegram messaging platform, had been arrested in connection with an investigation opened last month into criminal activity on the app and a lack of cooperation with law enforcement.
Mr. Durov, 39, was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget Airport near Paris after landing on a private plane from Azerbaijan. He had not been charged and remained in custody, which can be extended through Wednesday, according to prosecutors.
Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said in a statement that the arrest was part of an investigation opened on July 8 “against person unnamed” on a raft of potential charges, including complicity in the distribution of child pornography and selling of drugs, money laundering, and a refusal to cooperate with law enforcement.
The investigation is being handled by cybercrime and anti-fraud specialists, Ms. Beccuau said. “It is within this procedural framework that Pavel Durov was questioned by the investigators,” she said.
It was unclear whether any of the charges listed by Ms. Beccuau would be held against Mr. Durov.
In France, complex criminal cases are handled by special magistrates who have broad investigative powers and can place defendants under formal investigation, charging them when they believe the evidence warrants it.
But the magistrates can later drop charges if they do not think evidence is sufficient to proceed to trial, and cases can take years.
Mr. Durov’s arrest has become a point of contention in the debate about free speech on the internet. President Emmanuel Macron of France on Monday dismissed accusations from supporters of Telegram that the arrest was an example of government censorship.
“The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation,” Mr. Macron said in a statement posted on X. “It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”
It was an unusual step for Mr. Macron, as French leaders usually refrain from commenting on the early stages of criminal investigations.
“France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship,” Mr. Macron wrote. “It will remain so.”
Telegram has more than 900 million users, with growth driven partly by a commitment to free speech. Telegram’s light oversight over content on the platform has helped people living under authoritarian governments communicate, but it has also made the app a haven for harmful content. Telegram works as a standard messaging app, but also hosts channels and groups in which large numbers of people can broadcast ideas and communicate, with minimal moderation.
Telegram has long been on the radar of law enforcement agencies because terrorist organizations, drug sellers, weapons dealers and far-right extremist groups have used it for communicating, recruiting and organizing. National governments, especially those in the European Union, have intensified pressure on technology companies to address disinformation, online extremism, child safety and the spread of illicit material.
The arrest of Mr. Durov, who was born in the Soviet Union, could further strain relations between France and Russia, which are already at a low point over French support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. The Russian Embassy in France said in a statement on Sunday that it had asked the French authorities for clarification on the arrest and requested consular access to the Telegram founder.
Mr. Durov, whose net worth was estimated by Bloomberg at more than $9 billion, left Russia in 2014 after he lost control of Vkontakte, the rival to Facebook in Russia. The year before, he had founded Telegram, which is now based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Mr. Durov has citizenship in France and the Emirates, according to Telegram.
In a statement on Telegram on Sunday, the company said that “it is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.” Mr. Durov, the company added, “has nothing to hide.”
[Excerpt from NyTimes "Who is Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, Arrested in France?" Dated 27/08/24]

Q1: Why was Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, arrested in Paris?
(a) For tax evasion
(b) For refusing to cooperate with the Russian government
(c) For his involvement in an investigation related to illegal activities on Telegram
(d) For creating a new messaging app

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Q2: What is Pavel Durov best known for before founding Telegram?
(a) Creating a new cryptocurrency
(b) Launching a video streaming platform
(c) Founding the social media platform VKontakte (VK)
(d) Developing a popular video game

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Q3: What is a key feature of Telegram that sets it apart from other messaging apps?
(a) It is only available in Russia
(b) It allows syncing of chats across multiple devices
(c) It has no encryption for messages
(d) It automatically deletes all messages after 24 hours

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Q4: Why is the French government concerned about Telegram?
(a) Because it charges users for messaging
(b) Because it helps spread harmful content and allows illegal activities
(c) Because it is not available in France
(d) Because it was developed in Russia

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Q5: What has Telegram's content policy traditionally emphasized?
(a) High levels of censorship
(b) User privacy and neutral stance on political matters
(c) Collecting and sharing user data with governments
(d) Selling user data for advertising

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