PARIS — When French prosecutors took aim at Telegram boss Pavel Durov, they had a trump card to wield — a tough new law with no international equivalent that criminalises tech titans whose platforms allow illegal products or activities.

The so-called LOPMI law, enacted in Jan 2023, has placed France at the forefront of a group of nations taking a sterner stance on crime-ridden websites. But the law is so recent that prosecutors have yet to secure a conviction.

With the law still untested in court, France's pioneering push to prosecute figures like Durov could backfire if its judges baulk at penalising tech bosses for alleged criminality on their platforms. 

A French judge placed Durov under formal investigation last month, charging him with various crimes, including the 2023 offence: "Complicity in the administration of an online platform to allow an illicit transaction, in an organised gang," which carries a maximum 10-year sentence and a 500,000 euro (S$720,000) fine.

Related

---