Proton is transitioning towards a non-profit structure | Proton
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To ensure our mission always comes first, Proton is transitioning to a non-profit structure and formalizing our promise of people before profits.

It is a nice PR but for me I am not impressed. Rolex is also a non profit organization in Switzerland and and mostly help hiding there finance.

Correct me if I am wrong but all I see is words and promises. I would trust them if they release the yearly finance transparently.

For now the only act I can judge them on is their collaboration with police to give ecologist activists IP.

Aileks
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25M

For now the only act I can judge them on is their collaboration with police to give ecologist activists IP.

You mean because they were forced to? Like every other Swiss organization under the exact same order? I always find this type of “argument” so purposefully obtuse.

It is a nice PR but for me I am not impressed. Rolex is also a non profit organization in Switzerland and and mostly help hiding there finance.

Okay but Rolex is Rolex. There are uncountably many non-profits, and many (most?) do good work. I don’t think Rolex is representative of your usual non profit.

Can you elaborate on that? They turned over an ecologist activists IP?

wagoner
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15M

“Crucially, the order did not provide the contents of the activist’s email, which are encrypted and cannot be accessed by Proton. Yen said a similar order would also not be able to provide ProtonVPN metadata, as VPNs are subject to different requirements under Swiss law.”

From the verge article

You can search it online : I don’t know any good media so here’s the first result on DuckDuckGo https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/6/22659861/protonmail-swiss-court-order-french-climate-activist-arrest-identification

Damn that’s so fucking sad.

Just because it’s still in my clipboard from another post:

https://proton.me/blog/climate-activist-arrest

Long story short, they got ordered to do so by a court, which is legally binding and they won’t go to jail for you.

They won’t go to jail, period. No company owners never go to jail, kinda ever. This phrase is out of proportion. At worse they would have a fine.

Also still in the blog everything is words and very opaque like " We do this not only through technology and advocacy (Proton has contributed over $500,000 toward defending these values around the world)" : like where, what, when?

“There was no legal possibility to resist or fight this particular request.” : I doubt very much unless Switzerland is a dictatorship in disguise.

“Switzerland generally will not assist prosecutions from countries without fair justice systems.” : clearly not.

Every webprovider or server in the EU is forced to reveal datas of an user because an court order in a criminal investigation, with even the risk that the service will be closed, apart of high fines if they don’t. If you are an criminal, it’s better to message with paper and pen, otherwise they’ll find you, independent which online service you use.

Also still in the blog everything is words and very opaque like " We do this not only through technology and advocacy (Proton has contributed over $500,000 toward defending these values around the world)" : like where, what, when?

Should they always go into a downward spiral and explain everything they did? Check out the Proton Christmas fundraisers, that’s what they are talking about

There was no legal possibility to resist or fight this particular request." : I doubt very much unless Switzerland is a dictatorship in disguise.

No legal system in the world allows you to fight everything all the time. Get to reality.

Switzerland generally will not assist prosecutions from countries without fair justice systems." : clearly not.

Wasn’t that case in France? Don’t remember exactly. Not sure if you’re calling France to have unfair justice systems, but then you should probably look for a new planet, because nothing is 100% fair unfortunately.

You can still distinguish between very bad, kind of bad, okayish, and mostly good.

They won’t go to jail, period. No company owners never go to jail, kinda ever.

That’s absolutely not true. Sure, there are lots of cases where individuals have limited personal liability under their company, but this doesn’t mean no-one goes to jail for illegal business activity. In fact it happens all the time.

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

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