Russian authorities continue to systematically narrow the space for rights and freedoms. Increasingly, this affects not only activists or independent media, but also ordinary people — including young people, often referred to today as “Generation Zoom.” New restrictions do not always come in the form of blunt bans. More often, they are presented as “digital modernization,” “convenient services,” or “recommendations” that quickly turn into obligations.

One of the most recent examples is the pressure placed on students and teachers to force a transition to the “national” messenger MAX.

On November 11, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education demanded that universities switch to MAX on an accelerated timeline: register in the system, create channels and group chats for study groups, and report on usage. The requirements explicitly mention monitoring the activity of students and staff. The deadline is strict — December 19. What initially looks like a recommendation turns into coercion in practice.

The human rights project “By One’s Own Free Will” reports that it has already received dozens of complaints: more than 40 from universities and colleges and another 22 from schools and kindergartens. Reports came from 20 regions, most frequently from Moscow. The pattern is similar everywhere: direct threats of expulsion or dismissal are not always used. Instead, conditions are created in which it becomes impossible to study or work without MAX. Schedules, exams, and important announcements are moved exclusively to the new messenger, while traditional channels stop responding or sharing information. In some institutions, lists of those who have registered are kept, and those who have not installed MAX receive daily reminders to do so.

There are also serious concerns about security and privacy. MAX has closed source code, it is unclear whether end-to-end encryption exists, and how user data is stored or transmitted. There are plans to integrate the app with the state services portal, which could mean logging in “by passport,” effectively eliminating digital anonymity. Under such conditions, the requirement to install a specific messenger is perceived not as convenience, but as a tool of control.

Lawyers emphasize that educational institutions have no legal right to make the installation of a messenger a condition for studying or working. Pressure of this kind is a violation of rights, not innovation.

Against this backdrop, the human rights project “By One’s Own Free Will” has launched a petition demanding an investigation into cases of coercion related to MAX and an end to pressure on students, teachers, and other public-sector workers.

For Generation Zoom, digital rights are not an abstract concept. Privacy, freedom of communication, and the ability to choose platforms are part of everyday life. That is why such measures are often perceived as an invasion of personal space.

Possible reactions include:

• quiet resistance and workarounds;
• legal and public pressure;
• local protests;
• a cumulative effect where growing restrictions gradually turn frustration into political anger.

International examples show that young people can become a driving force for political change, but usually only when economic pressure, injustice, and safe means of self-organization converge. In Russia, the authorities appear to be betting on the opposite — restricting platforms, complicating self-organization, and channeling communication into controlled systems. As a result, the most likely response today is not mass protests, but dispersed resistance: campaigns, boycotts, information leaks, rising distrust, and the gradual radicalization of views.