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Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

theintercept.com

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Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#151

Post by BoredPositron »

0-_-0 wrote: post #146

Proton's response copied from a Reddit thread: Hi everyone, No, Proton did not knowingly block journalists’ email accounts. Our support for journalists and those working in the public interest has been demonstrated time and again through actions, not just words. In this case, we were alerted by a CERT that certain accounts were being misused by hackers in violation of Proton’s Terms of Service. This led to a cluster…

This makes the situation even worse for me. CERTs lack any legal authority to compel action or enforce compliance. Without a thorough and fast post mortem analysis, this incident is deeply concerning for anyone who relies on Proton as their primary email provider. I guess getting trigger happy just comes as soon as you get a bigger user base but that's exactly when you get caught slipping. Like they did with the false positives it honestly reads like:

"We have good relationships and trust this CERT so we carpet bombed all accounts they send us without even looking at them."

I wonder what would have happened to accounts or users without the reach on socials.

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#152

Post by esseph »

inferiorhuman wrote: post #145
esseph wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> constant bugginess and jankiness of their offerings This is something I had not heard (also have been a paying user for a very long time). I've never encountered a bug, to my knowledge. I did dislike that when they released photo storage they didn't have a proper search feature.

I've never encountered a bug I've never hit any of the major bugs, but the iOS app is quite glitchy. The unread count never updates if the mailbox is externally modified (e.g. via the web app), sometimes it goes to zero or one. Sometimes my messages simply don't show up. There was also that whole IMAP data loss issue. Unsure if that ever got resolved.

Android / Linux using the web apps / chrome ext here.

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#153

Post by southernplaces7 »

chatmasta wrote: post #73

Proton dropped from the top spot on my list of “user-first email platforms” when they announced they’ll be deleting accounts that haven’t logged into their service in some arbitrary amount of time. If I can’t rely on my email / messaging / phone / communications provider to keep an open line for as long as I need it – whether that’s one year or two years or twenty years, then I’m not going to use it. And if they requ…

I've had multiple proton accounts and can vouch for (pure anecdote of course) two of those working fine despite me forgetting to use them completely for at least four years. So not sure how true what you say is. These are both free accounts btw.

The amount of hate that Proton gets here for the above still ambiguous situation (and in many other comment threads) is bizarre and oddly hive-minded.. The company is far from perfect but compared to the overtly parasitical openly done deep scanning of your email content and utter disregard for any responsiveness to user complaints from any major American tech company's email service, Proton is positively saintly by comparison. Id' suggest growing and regularly watering a bit of perspective.

EDIT: I see a number of comments about Proton's "jankiness" and service unreliability here too. I haven't experienced any of that either on desktop or mobile.

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#154

Post by southernplaces7 »

nerpderp82 wrote: post #88
overfeed wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll go out on a limb and say it: it's an American cybersecurity agency. Proton's CEO/Proton[1] loves the current US admin. I wouldn't be surprised if they comply now and ask questions later, if at all. 1. According to the now-deleted Reddit comment from the official Proton account glazing Republicans, so I assume they were speaking on behalf of all of Proton. https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-…

Proton is a honey watering hole pot. This has always been clear.

So clear that you can present the least evidence for it aside from the CEO's saying a thing or two that doesn't automatically spit on the current administration?

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#155

Post by southernplaces7 »

overfeed wrote: post #81
fivefives55555 wrote: post #9

I've been following this on X/Twitter and I think one of the most egregious things that's important to point out is that folks from Phrack reached out to Proton in private multiple times, and Proton ghosted them. Proton only engaged with them and then reinstated the accounts after Phrack went public and their X/Twitter post went viral. It also looks like one of the writers filed an appeal with Proton and Proton denie…

I'll go out on a limb and say it: it's an American cybersecurity agency. Proton's CEO/Proton[1] loves the current US admin. I wouldn't be surprised if they comply now and ask questions later, if at all. 1. According to the now-deleted Reddit comment from the official Proton account glazing Republicans, so I assume they were speaking on behalf of all of Proton. https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-…

Half the American tech landscape is either running toward Trumps bed or bending right down and making all the right mating signals in hopes of some interest, but a few pro-republican comments from the Proton CEO should be held as immediately and deeply suspect of this company being a honeypot?

People of all kinds can say certain positive things about the Republican Party for different reasons in specific contexts and not be fanatics you know. That's how using actual reasoning and nuanced discourse works in the world of not throwing your brain in the garbage through ideological rigidity.

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#156

Post by baxtr »

nicce wrote: post #70
baxtr wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a positive note: having reach on social media can solve problems nowadays.

The effect is opposite - things get fixed only when you get enough social noise and that is not good.

This has always been true. The difference today is that if you are able to craft a powerful message, distribution isn’t a problem anymore.

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#157

Post by yogorenapan »

jegp wrote: post #92
johnklos wrote: post #80

The true value of a company can be measured by our ability to communicate with them. If we can't communicate except after public outrage, then what does that say about the company? Here's a genuine question: is Proton Mail the least shitty of companies that provide email services? I self-host email and will continue until I die. But for others who need a company to do this for them, is Proton Mail the least shitty of…

What's your stack? After reading this, self hosting suddenly appeals to me.

I've been self hosting my email for a couple years. Currently using mox https://github.com/mjl-/mox I'd avoid popular server providers like Hetzner or DO. Lots of abuse there so you might get dropped. https://www.eth-services.de sponsors mailcow and has been pretty reliable

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#158

Post by IshKebab »

0-_-0 wrote: post #146

Proton's response copied from a Reddit thread: Hi everyone, No, Proton did not knowingly block journalists’ email accounts. Our support for journalists and those working in the public interest has been demonstrated time and again through actions, not just words. In this case, we were alerted by a CERT that certain accounts were being misused by hackers in violation of Proton’s Terms of Service. This led to a cluster…

I don't follow. They can't tell if their terms of service have been violated so they took CERT's word for it? How did they decide to restore two accounts then?

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#159

Post by mightysashiman »

chatmasta wrote: post #73

Proton dropped from the top spot on my list of “user-first email platforms” when they announced they’ll be deleting accounts that haven’t logged into their service in some arbitrary amount of time. If I can’t rely on my email / messaging / phone / communications provider to keep an open line for as long as I need it – whether that’s one year or two years or twenty years, then I’m not going to use it. And if they requ…

If you don't pay, you are not a customer. They are doing you a favour. Don't be a begger.

Re: Proton Mail suspended journalist accounts at request of cybersecurity agency

#160

Post by 8cvor6j844qw_d6 »

crossroadsguy wrote: post #132
8cvor6j844qw_d6 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar case, I recently migrated from @mozmail to SimpleLogin and wondered if I made the right choice. I heard using your own domains solves the migration issue but that makes your email pretty identifiable just by looking at your domain. I wonder whats a suitable replacement candidate after Mozmail and Simple Login? One of the reasons I migrated away from Mozmail to Simple Login was that you can't initiate a email…

You mean Firefox Replay right? It has been in beta for a long time (I mean anything other than the basic free plan). Did you get in via some invite or so? https://relay.firefox.com right? Or there's another service? > that makes your email pretty identifiable Agreed. I have also stopped abusing the catch-all of my domains. It became a pain very soon. Not only privacy issues but I couldn't possibly block those emails/…

Yes I was using Firefox Relay.

> Did you get in via some invite or so?

I signed up normally. It's been a while so I don't remember the details but I didn't receive any invitation or early access etc.

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