Police in Moscow appear to be stopping civilians and demanding to see their phones in order to screen their photos and text messages, a reporter based there said on Sunday.
Reporter Anya Vasileva said in a Telegram post that police officers near Detskiy Mir, a popular Russian toy store in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, were stopping people and ordering them to show their phones, including their texts and photos. If people refused to let police view their phone’s contents, the police would not let them pass, Vasileva said on Telegram.
“I came up and asked them on what grounds they are doing this. The police checked my press card and declined to comment,” Vasileva said. “I remind you, that phones are protected by end-to-end encryption. It is illegal for the police to order you to show them your phone’s contents!”
In a video posted by Vasileva, police appeared to have stopped several people and were scrolling through their phones as they looked on. Russian authorities can access communications on a citizen’s personal phone, tablet, or computer without a warrant, according to the Library of Congress.
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