Exactly what I said in my post above. Durov made it HARD to get Telegram user data. It was easier and cheaper to take him hostage than to steal the user data in bulk. I don't doubt ECHELON can get root access if they want, via hardware trojans. But that's tedious work plus mad skillz.

They don't need to back door it. Being able to spy on your phone doesn't stop you from still uploading content and saying what you want. They content moderation authority and control over the free speech apps.