INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
cases deepened distrust toward Western authorities.The Russian-French billionaire was detained at a Paris airport last month on charges of
enabling criminal activity on Telegram
region.Her name, like those of others interviewed for this article, has been changed for safety reasons given The Moscow Times' status as a
to be a file on me that could harm me
[Accessing my messages] violates my right to confidential communication and creates potential risks," said Ivan from Moscow.Rally against
the isolation of Runet in Moscow in 2019.DonSimonDiana said she stopped sharing sensitive personal information on the app even before Durov
was detained."Since chats started leaking on WhatsApp, I stopped trusting any messengers, including Telegram," Diana said.When asked about
these concerns, Anton, a business owner from the city of Saratov in southern Russia, said he is wary of both Western law enforcement
world and are governed by the rule of law with strong civil institutions, then it will end up in the hands of authoritarian states with all
no doubt that Western intelligence agencies, like Russian ones, also want to control social networks, but I believed that, unlike the
Russian ones, they would at least maintain the appearance of legality," Ivan said.Mikhail, a student from St
succeed," she added.With reporting by Ned Garvey and Mack Tubridy.
