Developers of popular Telegram crypto games like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin have taken to social media to protest the arrest of Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov on Saturday night, sparking a wave of solidarity in the gaming community, which has attracted hundreds of millions of players.
After news of Durov’s arrest broke on Saturday, prominent crypto games on Telegram shared a cartoon sticker with the app’s logo on their community channels, many accompanied by strong messages of opposition to the French authorities’ actions.
As Bitcoin Magazine reported, the 39-year-old billionaire was arrested in France on Saturday evening as he got off a private plane from Azerbaijan. Durov is accused of conduct related to a lack of moderation on his messaging platform, which led to criminal activities such as supporting terrorism, trafficking in drugs and stolen goods, and distributing child sexual abuse material. The Telegram CEO is facing a sentence of up to 20 years in France.
The news quickly spread throughout the crypto industry, attracting strong attention and reactions from investors and developers, including those behind major crypto games on Telegram.
“Criminalizing technology is the dumbest thing,” Notcoin’s official community channel wrote in a statement regarding the arrest, asserting, “Privacy is not a crime.”
Hamster Kombat, which has over 300 million players and is set to launch an upcoming airdrop on Telegram-linked The Open Network (TON), has added a “#FREEDUROV” tag to its game. The tag emphasizes Notcoin’s message, with the headline: “Privacy is not a crime.”
“As a community committed to free speech and decentralization, we stand firmly behind Pavel during these challenging times,” the official TON account wrote on Twitter Saturday evening. “Pavel has been a steadfast advocate for these values, and we believe his efforts to promote an open and decentralized internet will continue to inspire millions.”
Reaction to Durov’s arrest was not limited to the blockchain or crypto gaming developer community. Other prominent figures have also weighed in, including Twitter owner Elon Musk and whistleblower Edward Snowden – who has directly condemned French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Durov’s arrest is an attack on the fundamental human rights to freedom of expression and association,” Snowden wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “I am surprised and deeply disappointed that Macron has chosen to use hostages as a tool to access private communications. This not only undermines France’s reputation, but the world’s.”
Messaging platform Telegram has released its first official statement regarding the arrest of CEO Pavel Durov.
“Telegram complies with EU law, including the Digital Services Act — moderation is industry standard and is constantly improving. CEO Pavel Durov is a transparent individual who travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owners are responsible for abuse of the platform. Nearly a billion users worldwide rely on Telegram as a means of communication and an important source of information. We are waiting for a quick resolution to this situation. Telegram is with all of you.”
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