The co-founder of an instant messaging app frequently entering Russia raises concerns, which may affect the platform's regulation and privacy policies.

Recently, a report from an independent news organization has attracted a lot of attention. According to the report, the co-founder and CEO of a well-known instant messaging app entered Russia several times between 2015 and 2021. The information, which stems from data leaked by Russia's main intelligence agency, was first exposed around August 20 and subsequently hidden on August 26. The news agency said it partially verified the authenticity of the data through exchanges with Russian opposition investigators.

It is reported that the executive did not deliberately hide his itinerary. He has travelled several commercial flights between St. Petersburg, Russia and major European cities, and even traveled by rail from Russia to Helsinki, Finland. Born in Russia, the executive co-founded a Russian social networking company in 2006. In 2014, he resigned as chief executive and sold a 12 percent stake in Ukrainian protesters for refusing to comply with orders from Russian authorities to disclose personal information about Ukrainian protesters.

In April 2014, the executive left Russia. His only public visit to Russia since then was in the fall of 2014, when he briefly returned home for a few days to sell his data center company. According to reports, he traveled to Russia several times between 2015 and 2017 and from 2020 to 2021, with the only period when he did not visit Russia was from 2018 to 2020. In an interview in April, however, the executive claimed that he would not travel to places that did not align with his company's values, including Russia.

Notably, the executive was arrested in France on August 24. French authorities have accused him of failing to effectively regulate illegal activities on his communications platform, which he claims is being used for drug trafficking, fraud, and organized crime. The incident has reignited discussions about the security and regulation of instant messaging platforms.

This series of events has undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on the executive and his company. It involves not only the issue of personal integrity, but also a number of sensitive areas such as business management and international politics. In the future, finding a balance between protecting user privacy and complying with the laws of each country will be a major challenge for the company.