3d ago

Proton Mail says it’s “politically neutral” while praising Republican Party

theintercept.com Proton Mail Says It’s “Politically Neutral” While Praising Republican Party

The “privacy-first” company surprised its user base when CEO Andy Yen lauded Trump on social media.

Summary

Proton Mail, known for its privacy-first email services, faced backlash after CEO Andy Yen praised the Republican Party and its antitrust stance.

The company initially posted and deleted a statement supporting Yen’s comments, later claiming an “internal miscommunication” and reiterating its political neutrality.

Critics question Proton’s impartiality, particularly as it cooperates with Swiss authorities on legal data requests.

Privacy advocates warn that political alignments could undermine trust, especially for Proton’s users—journalists and activists wary of government surveillance under administrations like Trump’s.

Technology @lemmy.world

abobla @lemm.ee

2d ago

Proton Mail Says It’s “Politically Neutral” While Praising Republican Party

theintercept.com /2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/

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Proton @lemmy.world

BrikoX @lemmy.zip

2d ago

Proton Mail Says It’s “Politically Neutral” While Praising Republican Party

theintercept.com /2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/

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289 comments

I’m going to do this with all mail domains and account with them.
I don’t care how publicly they state their neutrality, when push comes to shove, that nazi sympathizer is going to side with the enemy and all of us who thought we had a safe haven are at risk. I’d rather cut my losses.
I’m also annoyed with how they pile so much into the service that for some of us, they’re extras which aren’t needed. I just want to simplify my email into Tuta now I think, and Mullvad for VPN. While having those together was convenient, it’s no different on my phone or pc to use two different apps for those.
I will very clearly state why I’m taking my business elsewhere.
- I’m also annoyed with how they pile so much into the service that for some of us, they’re extras which aren’t needed.
  I agree, it's ever-more loaded up with crap that I won't use. I'm a free plan user and rarely use the service. Between the never-ending nagging to upgrade that I get on the website, the discount deals that end up being "one year only then full price" and their intentional crippling of the service (# of aliases, domain support, etc) that basically requires you to subscribe to one of their expensive plans just to get the functionality of other competing providers, there's no way I'd ever give them money. And now there's the kissing the Orange Diaper Baby butt on top of all that. It's going to be fun giving all these Nazi tech bro services the boot. mailbox.org is looking pretty good, unless they turn out to be AfD bootlickers.
  
  “one year only then full price”
  You can say what you want, but this is mostly the norm with subscriptions. Not only that but legally they can often index the price as well. I haven't seen a single subscription in Europe that keeps Grandfathering prices with the exception of Old School Runescape where people claim it.I haven't verified it
  
  But. We still have the possibility of saying: NO. NO. I will NOT pay you for this service as is.
  In Proton’s case, they said they are pro privacy. They built off that back.
  Now, if the guy in charge of the ship is known to be fond of icebergs.. time to find a new ship and a better captain.
  It’s ANNOYING to move services. Agreed. It’s annoying to be having to fight so hard for basic privacy. Agreed.
  If you don’t consider it and just comply: you’re potentially putting yourself at risk.
  
  There is still no proof that they aren’t complying with their own privacy standerds. Just because the CEO is a dick doesn’t mean the entire company has to be a dick. If everything is properly arranged the CEO shouldn’t even be arranged to push things that go against the believes and statements of the company in the situation of an European company with the structure of Proton.
  Currently I am unable to switch anyway due to time restrains and such, so I am just gonna see if we hear anything about the next audit regarding privacy.

289 comments