It is imperative that Google take immediate action to protect user privacy and uphold human rights by removing the MaX messenger app from the Google Play Store.

Concerns about the application's potential to violate user privacy, aid state surveillance, and facilitate political repression are growing. These concerns have been highlighted by leading human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Access Now, and Privacy International. In a joint report published in June 2025, Amnesty International and Access Now warned that state-sponsored technologies like MaX represent an alarming escalation in digital surveillance and repression in Russia and similar authoritarian environments. The report notes that:

"Apps such as MaX, developed or endorsed by state-controlled entities, are being weaponized to track, monitor, and silence dissenters under the guise of secure communication platforms."
— Amnesty International & Access Now, “Surveillance by Design: The New Face of Digital Repression”, June 2025 [https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2025/06/surveillance-by-design/],[https://www.accessnow.org/reports/state-digital-control-2025/]

Moreover, technical analysis by Privacy International revealed that apps like MaX may fail to implement end-to-end encryption properly, and instead route data through state-monitored infrastructure (such as Russia’s "SORM" and "GosSOPKA" systems), which have long been condemned by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy.[https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/5102/governments-spy-tools-every-pocket]

The MaX app has also been linked to recent cases of prosecution based on private digital communications — a practice documented by Human Rights Watch and Roskomsvoboda, including incidents where users were interrogated or arrested after messages sent via government-tied apps.[https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/17/russia-prosecutions-online-speech-escalate],[https://roskomsvoboda.org/post/digital-dictatorship/]

Furthermore, the Russian government has announced that MaX will be preinstalled on all smartphones sold in Russia starting September 1, 2025, eliminating user choice and pushing state-controlled software into users' private lives by default [https://zona.media/news/2025/07/01/max-mandatory] [https://meduza.io/en/news/2025/06/30/russia-mandates-max-messenger-on-phones]
This coercive distribution model, coupled with known ties to surveillance infrastructure, directly contradicts Google’s stated values of user privacy, freedom of expression, and digital integrity.

Google has long been recognized as a global leader in internet freedom and safeguarding user data. Allowing the MaX app to remain on your platform, despite overwhelming evidence of its use as a surveillance and repression tool, undermines that legacy and exposes millions of users to risk.

We Urge Immediate Action:
-Remove the MaX messenger app from the Google Play Store.
-Conduct an independent audit of its code and data handling practices.
-Reaffirm Google’s global commitment to user privacy, internet freedom, and opposition to authoritarian control.

The world is watching. Please stand by your principles and take swift action to prevent further harm.

Join us in signing this petition to demand digital safety, accountability, and human rights protections for all users!🕊️❤️