‘Hamster Kombat’, Other TON Games Protest Arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

The developers of prominent Following The 39-year-old billionaire was arrested Saturday evening in France after stepping off his private jet from Azerbaijan, television network Durov was reportedly detained for offenses tied to a lack of moderation by the messaging platform over alleged illegal acts by its users, including actions related to facilitating terrorism, the sale of narcotics and stolen goods, and child sexual abuse material.Telegram representatives did not respond to “Charging for technology is the dumbest thing ever,” the official Notcoin community channel wrote in relation to the arrest, adding, “Privacy is not a crime.”Privacy is not a crime.Go Telegram. Now.— Notcoin Ø (@thenotcoin) August 25, 2024Hamster Kombat, which has reportedly drawn more than 300 million players to date with promises of an upcoming airdrop on the Telegram-affiliated “As a community committed to freedom of speech and decentralization, we stand firmly by Pavel during this challenging time,” the official TON account The backlash to Durov’s arrest has not been limited to blockchain game developers, however, nor the crypto community. Other notable figures have spoken out about the move, including Twitter owner Elon Musk and whistleblower Edward Snowden—the latter of which called out French President Emmanuel Macron.“The arrest of Durov is an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association,”