Podchasov vs. Russia: ECHR Rejects Encryption Backdoors
Recently, the global conversation on digital privacy has been
significantly influenced by the landmark case of "Podchasov vs.
Russia" (ECHR Appl. No. 33696/19), a legal battle involving the
messaging app Telegram and the Russian government. The ruling of the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stated that the storage of
communications data without adequate safeguards against abuse cannot
be regarded as necessary in a democracy society. The ruling
specifically stands against encryption backdoors. It underscores the
critical challenge of balancing state security measures with the
fundamental human right of privacy and offers a legal precedent.
Anton Podchasov is a Russian Telegram user who took the government to the ECHR because Russia’s laws forced messaging services to store everyone’s communications, give security services access to them, and even decrypt encrypted chats. He argued this violated his right to privacy — and the Court agreed.
This is all taken originally from this full report on the case: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=001-230854#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-230854%22]}
Background
In 2017, a significant legal battle unfolded in Russia, pitting the
popular messaging app Telegram against the Russian government. This
conflict was ignited by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)'s
demands for the decryption of messages, a move rooted in the
controversial "Yarovaya Law." This law mandates telecommunications
services to assist security agencies in decrypting user
communications, justified by the Russian government as a necessary
step in combating terrorism and protecting national security.
Critics of the law argued that such measures would lead to the
creation of a "surveillance state," where citizens' private
communications could be monitored without substantial checks and
balances. Telegram, renowned for its commitment to user privacy and
strong encryption, found itself at the forefront of this debate.
In 2017, the FSB filed a lawsuit for the non-fulfillment of the
Yarovaya law by Telegram, with the judgment delivered in favor of the
FSB. According to Pavel Durov, one of the founders of Telegram, the
FSB's requirements were not feasible:
“In addition to the fact that the requirements of the FSB are not
technically feasible, they contradict Article 23 of the Constitution
of the Russian Federation : "Everyone has the right to privacy of
correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraphic and other
communications.”
Source: Wikipedia "Blocking of Telegram in Russia" quoting
ntv.ru
“If the FSB had confined itself to requesting information about
several terrorists, its demand would fit in with the Constitution.
However, we are talking about the transfer of universal encryption
keys for the purpose of subsequent uncontrolled access to the
correspondence of an unlimited circle of persons.”
Source: Wikipedia "Blocking of Telegram in Russia" quoting Durov's
Telegram Channel and tass.ru
Anton Podchasov's legal battle began when the Russian government
blocked access to the Telegram service in 2018. His involvement
stemmed from his personal use of the app and his concerns over privacy
rights, making him a key figure in the legal battle against the
Russian government's demands for decryption. Podchasov's lawsuit,
after being dismissed by the nation's supreme court, was ultimately
taken up by the ECHR, which ruled in his favor.
Findings of the ECHR
In its landmark ruling on February 13, 2024, the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) issued a decisive judgment in the case of
"Podchasov v. Russia," addressing a controversial issue at the
intersection of privacy and state surveillance. The court's findings
focused on the statutory requirements under Russian legislation,
notably the controversial Information Act and Order No. 432 of July
19, 2016 (Yarovaya Law). These laws compelled information
communications organizers, such as Telegram, to store all internet
communications and related data and to provide this data, along with
decryption tools (backdoors), to law enforcement upon request.
The ECHR closely inspected the far-reaching effects of this
legislation, considering its substantial implications for users of
communication services. The court underscored that the legislation
indiscriminately affected all users, irrespective of any reasonable
suspicion of involvement in criminal or national security-threatening
activities. This blanket approach raised serious concerns about the
potential for unchecked state surveillance.
In its critical analysis, the ECHR identified several key issues:
-
Broad Scope of Surveillance: The
court emphasized that the legislation's expansive reach, affecting
all network users, constituted a significant interference with an
individual’s private life.
-
Lack of Adequate Safeguards: The
ECHR found the legal provisions governing surveillance to be lacking
in effective guarantees against abuse. This deficiency heightened
the risk of arbitrariness, making the surveillance measures
susceptible to misuse.
-
Impact on End-to-End Encryption:
Central to the court's deliberation was the impact on communications
protected by end-to-end encryption. The requirement for
de-encryption, as mandated by Russian law, was found to affect users
indiscriminately, infringing on the privacy of individuals who posed
no threat to legitimate government interests. The prospect of
creating backdoors for decryption was particularly troubling, as it
could enable routine, widespread, and indiscriminate surveillance of
personal electronic communications.
The ECHR's conclusion was indisputable: the access to and potential
misuse of electronic communications content, on such a generalized
scale and without robust safeguards, severely impaired the right to
respect for private life. This infringement was in direct violation of
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court's
ruling, thus, marked a significant moment in the ongoing global
dialogue about the delicate balance between state security measures
and the preservation of fundamental human rights in the digital era.
Limitations of the Ruling
While the ECHR's decision in the case "Podchasov vs. Russia" marks a
stance in favor of privacy rights, it is important to understand the
specific context and limits of this ruling:
-
Contextual Application: The ruling
specifically addressed the legal obligation to decrypt end-to-end
(E2E) communications, effectively creating backdoors in E2E
encryption.
-
Support of Alternative Solutions:
The court supported alternative solutions that do not undermine
protective encryption mechanisms, including traditional policing
methods, undercover operations and metadata analysis.
-
Derogable Right to Privacy: It's
important to note that the right to privacy, while fundamental, is
considered a derogable right under certain conditions. In extreme
situations, such as a declared state of emergency threatening the
life of a nation, governments may derogate from this right as
necessary to address the emergency, as outlined in Article 15 of the
ECHR.
This aspects underscore the complex balance between individual rights
and national security interests that courts and governments must
navigate.
Further Implications
The ECHR's ruling in "Podchasov vs. Russia" sets a precedent with
far-reaching implications about the limits of state surveillance in
the digital age. Governments grappling with the balance between
security and privacy may need to reevaluate their laws and practices,
especially those involved in collection and analysis of digital
communications, such as UK's "Online Safety Bill". If similar
requirements for weakening encryption are part of this bill, there is
a potential concern that it might face challenges in domestic courts
or even the European Court, based on the precedent set by this ruling.
EU Chat Control Sentiment by Country (Summer-Autumn 2025)
The EU's Chat Control proposal, aimed at detecting child sexual
abuse material via chat scanning, saw shifting positions through late
2025, with the Council adopting a negotiating mandate in November that
dropped mandatory scanning for voluntary measures and risk assessments,
amid ongoing trilogues expected into 2026. Trusted sources primarily
reported binary stances (support/oppose/undecided) rather than nuanced
sentiment volumes, limiting granular PRO/CONTRA counts; relative PRO
ratios (PRO / (PRO + CONTRA)) are derived from explicit mentions across
sources, using 1 unit per unique trusted reference per stance. Countries
lacking explicit mentions default to 0/0 (undefined
ratio).[1][2][3][4][5]
|
Country
|
PRO Units
|
CONTRA Units
|
PRO Ratio
|
|
France
|
4
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Italy
|
3
|
1
|
0.75
|
|
Spain
|
4
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Denmark
|
2
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Sweden
|
1
|
1
|
0.50
|
|
Hungary
|
2
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Ireland
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Cyprus
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Latvia
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Lithuania
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Bulgaria
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Croatia
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Portugal
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Romania
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Malta
|
1
|
0
|
1.00
|
|
Austria
|
0
|
2
|
0.00
|
|
Finland
|
0
|
2
|
0.00
|
|
Czech Republic
|
0
|
4
|
0.00
|
|
Netherlands
|
0
|
3
|
0.00
|
|
Poland
|
0
|
3
|
0.00
|
|
Belgium
|
0
|
2
|
0.00
|
|
Germany
|
0
|
1
|
0.00
|
|
Luxembourg
|
0
|
1
|
0.00 |