Live data from Hacker News

ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

theregister.com

21–30 of 352 posts

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#21
post #11

I guess ProtonVPN also is not an exception to such "undeniable" requests. Bad day for company who bank on "no log" policy. Their marketing division will have a ton of work to fix reputation :)

No, ProtonVPN isn't subject to the same problem (according to the CEO).

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#22
The ProtonMail guys always said that unless they were 20 miles from the littoral, in the sea side, they had to abide by national laws. So it was bound to happen.

What makes me sad is how flimsy their entire premise (not necessarily "promise") turned out to be: all it took was some minor rascal in France to hug the wrong tree (so to speak), and ProtonMail is in the open saying they can't even protect the IP address of their customers. From there, all it takes is for somebody to change a law in Switzerland and end-to-end encryption of the messages themselves will only be "by default."

I think there is a market for datacenters in open seas.

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#23
The homepage has always been misleading, since their TOS does mention that they can keep your IP address, for law-related purposes or spam prevention. Additionally, once they receive a request from Swiss police, they _have_ to comply and log those addresses. You can fight tooth and nail and pretend that your entire service is built to never see any IP, but in the end, you will still be made to log it.

Welcome to reality.

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#24
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s not a lie; it said “By default, we do not…”. So under any non-default situations they always could. I guess.

If that is the case, why did they remove this statement? It seems to me that if the statement remained true even though this guy got arrested, it would be true under the "by default" clause. By removing it, they indicate it was never true; or, I suppose, they discovered just how fun it is to get people arrested, and decided to change their policy on the fly! I was even considering switching to them...

> If that is the case, why did they remove this statement?

As far as I understand according to several comments I read here in HN "99%" of the people don't understand what "by default" means, making the sentence misleading for most.

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#25
If people are unhappy about Protonmail I suggest they try find an email provider that is impervious to any judicial requests. Of any country.

It is naive to imagine companies that have an address and take payments can ignore judicial decisions.

Yes there's a point about fighting decisions, but as people say "we live in a society".

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#26
post #11

I guess ProtonVPN also is not an exception to such "undeniable" requests. Bad day for company who bank on "no log" policy. Their marketing division will have a ton of work to fix reputation :)

No, ProtonVPN isn't subject to the same problem (according to the CEO).

That is of course not likely. If you get a police order you must comply, no matter what you have in your marketing.

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#27

For such a stupid thing too. I'm surprised Switzerland provided a warrant for a climate activist.

From the blog posting I read yesterday, the individual was not arrested for his political convictions. He was not only a climate activist, but also a squatter. Apparently there were several police officers hurt during a legally mandated eviction of the building that he squatted.

Saying "omg they arrested a climate activist" is like saying "omg, they arrested filesystem developer Hans Reiser!"

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#29
post #22

The ProtonMail guys always said that unless they were 20 miles from the littoral, in the sea side, they had to abide by national laws. So it was bound to happen. What makes me sad is how flimsy their entire premise (not necessarily "promise") turned out to be: all it took was some minor rascal in France to hug the wrong tree (so to speak), and ProtonMail is in the open saying they can't even protect the IP address of…

> I think there is a market for datacenters in open seas.

Sealand's HavenCo tried it back in the 2000s. As it turned out, it didn't work well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HavenCo

See: Death of a data haven: cypherpunks, WikiLeaks, and the world’s smallest nation https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/03/sealand-and-have...

Re: ProtonMail deletes 'we don't log your IP' from website after activist arrested

#30
post #6

This is just ridiculous.. If they receive a notice to log your IP address, they should notify you first. My trust in ProtonMail is gone.

> they should notify you first.

Worst-case they are not allowed to do this while the investigation is ongoing. As such, it will not happen this way.

Post reply on HN