France's arrest of Telegram boss Pavel Durov "not a political decision at all," President Emmanuel Macron says

French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged Monday that authorities had arrested the founder and CEO of the widely used messaging app Telegram, saying it was "not a political decision at all" and that Pavel Durov's fate was in the hands of France's independent judicial authorities. French media said Durov was detained Saturday over Telegram's alleged failure to moderate criminal activity on the platform, which has also been used by pro-democracy activists worldwide.

French police did not immediately confirm Durov's arrest, which was reportedly carried out at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, but in his own Monday post on social media platform X, Macron said he was "reading false information here" about the detention.

Macron said France remained committed to the tenets of "freedom of expression and communication, to innovation and entrepreneurship," but added that "freedoms are exercised within a framework established by law to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights."