"The arrest of Pavel Durov, the chief executive of Telegram, is a violation of fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression and the right of association," Edward Snowden, the Prism Gate whistleblower, said in a post on the X platform. "I am shocked and deeply saddened that Macron has degenerated into taking hostages to obtain private communications. This is a shame not only for France, but for the whole world."