This resonates with my experience of people using Facebook from inside repressive and censorial regimes when I was working there 2013-16

Meta is wisely reticent about such activity in order to not disconnect those users, and “the greater good is served by lawful surveillance to protect children”-types are talking out of their hat.

> “We have a lot of anecdotal reports of people using WhatsApp and what we can do is look at some of the countries where we’re seeing blocking and still see tens of millions of people connecting to WhatsApp,” Mr Cathcart told BBC News.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckke9x0e50xo