29.02.2024 16:13:00
Дата публикации
On February 13, the European Court of Human Rights published a ruling in the first case on “keys to Telegram” (“Anton Podchasov v. Russian Federation”), which concerned the legislative requirements of the Russian Federation imposed on the Telegram messenger.
According to the requirements of the Yarovaya Law, the platform had to automatically save all user data and store it for one year. Telegram was also required to store all messages, including correspondence, audio and video calls.
All this data had to be provided to the FSB upon request, as well as the encryption keys with which the security forces would gain access to user messages.
Telegram refused to comply with these demands, so in 2018 the Russian authorities attempted to block the messenger.
A number of citizens, with the support of the public organization Roskomsvoboda, filed a lawsuit to declare the FSB’s demands illegal, but having received a refusal in all instances, they sent their complaints to the ECHR.
The Court in Strasbourg heard the first case, siding with users, thereby categorically confirming that solutions that weaken encryption or create backdoors to facilitate law enforcement access to encrypted data violate the right to privacy of all users in accordance with Article 8 of the European Convention on human rights.
“I congratulate all civil society and users who decided to go through this process with us to the end and achieve one of the most significant decisions on the issue of encrypting communications in the digital age,” said the co-founder of Roskomsvoboda and general adviser of the Eurasian Digital Foundation. Sarkis Darbinyan.
According to the requirements of the Yarovaya Law, the platform had to automatically save all user data and store it for one year. Telegram was also required to store all messages, including correspondence, audio and video calls.
All this data had to be provided to the FSB upon request, as well as the encryption keys with which the security forces would gain access to user messages.
Telegram refused to comply with these demands, so in 2018 the Russian authorities attempted to block the messenger.
A number of citizens, with the support of the public organization Roskomsvoboda, filed a lawsuit to declare the FSB’s demands illegal, but having received a refusal in all instances, they sent their complaints to the ECHR.
The Court in Strasbourg heard the first case, siding with users, thereby categorically confirming that solutions that weaken encryption or create backdoors to facilitate law enforcement access to encrypted data violate the right to privacy of all users in accordance with Article 8 of the European Convention on human rights.
“I congratulate all civil society and users who decided to go through this process with us to the end and achieve one of the most significant decisions on the issue of encrypting communications in the digital age,” said the co-founder of Roskomsvoboda and general adviser of the Eurasian Digital Foundation. Sarkis Darbinyan.
(text translation is carried out automatically)
