Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester
"A court record reviewed by 404 Media shows privacy-focused email provider Proton Mail handed over payment data related to a Stop Cop City email account to the Swiss government, which handed it to the FBI."
Worth knowing if you think of Proton Mail as being a blanket security solution: in this case it was compelled to provide payment information for an account to the Swiss authorities, who then, via a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, handed it over to the FBI. As a result, the FBI were able to determine the identity of the account owner, an activist who does not appear to have been charged with a crime.
This is also kind of a weasely statement:
“Edward Shone, head of communications for Proton AG, the company behind Proton Mail, told 404 Media in an email: “We want to first clarify that Proton did not provide any information to the FBI, the information was obtained from the Swiss justice department via MLAT. Proton only provides the limited information that we have when issued with a legally binding order from Swiss authorities, which can only happen after all Swiss legal checks are passed. This is an important distinction because Proton operates exclusively under Swiss law.” Functionally, though, the material was provided to the FBI.”
Not every Proton Mail account is paid. But adding payment information can effectively deanonymize a user. Compare and contrast to, say, Mullvad, which allows payments to be made fully anonymously. (Edited to add: Proton does support cash payments, which are a better route for anonymous users.)
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