The US has violated its own constitutional freedoms by forcing its NATO ally France to arrest Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, US investor David Sacks has suggested.

Sacks on Sunday took to X (formerly Twitter) to strongly criticize Durov’s arrest at a Paris airport, reportedly on charges of complicity in fraud, drug trafficking, cyberbullying and promoting terrorism.

In a nod to rumors about the US role in the arrest, Sacks wrote: “Using allies to circumvent First Amendment protections is the new extradition.” The United States Constitution expressly protects freedom of speech and makes no distinction between its citizens and people from other countries.

In April, Sacks criticized a U.S. law that would have banned video platform TikTok if China-based developer ByteDance refused to sell it within 12 months. At the time, the investor suggested that after the crackdown on TikTok, Telegram, X and video platform Rumble could be in Washington’s sights.

Meanwhile, the French attempt to arrest Durov was also criticized by Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk, who launched the hashtag #FreePavel, suggesting pressure on freedom of speech could be mounting. “POV: It’s 2030 in Europe and you’re being executed for liking a meme,” he joked. He also agreed with a user who wondered if X could be the next to come under fire.

In an interview with conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson, released a few months ago, Durov recalled that he “too much attention” from U.S. law enforcement agencies while he was in the country. He said that while he was not under legal scrutiny, he regularly dealt with U.S. authorities eager to gain more insight into how Telegram operated.

The tech entrepreneur also alleged that police had attempted to recruit one of his employees to install a backdoor in the messenger that would allow them, or any other government, to spy on Telegram users.

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