ProtonMail rocks activists’ IP and loses user trust
We had already told you about ProtonMail’s indiscretions in the case of the hijacking of Ryanair flight FR4978 last May. The company, which nevertheless promises “Swiss confidentiality”, did not hesitate to communicate metadata to investigators since it is legally obliged to do so. We were amazed at the time to see ProtonMail so complacent. This was certainly to prove that the Belarusian government had bogged down a bomb threat, but ProtonMail has recently taken a new step. It all starts in 2020 with various demonstrations in Paris against the gentrification of the Sainte Marthe district where pro-ecology activists and residents mingle. The police intervene, spirits are heated and demonstrators are arrested for violence, refusal to comply, degradation and home invasion.
Dangerous terrorists in harem pants
Nothing too bad and especially not enough to send a BFMTV intern to cover it all. But there are big dollars behind this project and real estate developers who would like to take control of this district of the 10th to multiply the rents there by 2 or 3. The squatters, Zadists, artisans, unemployed, hippies and traine-savates are asked to clear at all costs. The police are therefore interested in the organization of the collective Youth for Climate and comes across a ProtonMail address. France immediately makes a request to Switzerland via EUROPOL and… ProtonMail sets up, provides the IP address as well as the fingerprint of the browser used. With the IP, it will be easy to find the user and prove that it is he who used the address with the machine’s fingerprint. Thank you ProtonMail and its “secure messaging”!
The society @ProtonMail delivered the IPs of climate activists to the police, after which the activists were arrested and searched. ProtonMail claims on its website, however, that it does not keep the IP addresses of its users. https://t.co/TlarH9DD9F
– onestla.tech (@OnEstLaTech) September 5, 2021
Note however that for a handful of people demonstrating in thongs in their own neighborhood, France invoked the specter of terrorism to obtain this information. Normal. Monique, Amédée, Fatima and Jean-Pierre? It is the Al-Quaïda of the 10th district therefore.
ProntonMail tries to explain itself
On Reddit, a ProtonMail manager tries to explain himself before returning the responsibility to the French government: ” The prosecutions appear to be quite aggressive in this matter. Unfortunately, this is a pattern that we are seeing more and more in recent years around the world (for example in France where anti-terrorism laws are used inappropriately)“. We will at least agree on that.
Knowing this, we will no longer be offering you great deals for ProtonVPN or ProtonMail. ProtonVPN will also be removed from our ranking of the best VPNs. For information, CyberGhost reports on the demands of policies around the world. Requests that go unanswered since the VPN really doesn’t keep anything. Unlike Switzerland, it is allowed in Romanian law.
