Proton Mail Discloses User Data Leading to Arrest in SpainPosted by PrivacyOsint in Privacy
Quote "Proton Mail has come under scrutiny for its role in a legal request involving the Spanish authorities and a member of the Catalan independence organization, Democratic Tsunami.
Proton Mail is a secure email service based in Switzerland, renowned for its commitment to privacy through end-to-end encryption and a strict no-logs policy. In 2021, Proton Mail faced controversy when it complied with a legal request that led to the arrest of a French climate activist. Under Swiss law, Proton Mail was compelled to collect and provide information on the individual’s IP address to Swiss authorities, who then shared it with French police.
The recent case involving the Spanish police this time, highlights privacy concerns and the limits of encrypted communication services under national security pretexts, and brings a long-debated subject to the forefront once again.
The core of the controversy stems from Proton Mail providing the Spanish police with the recovery email address associated with the Proton Mail account of an individual using the pseudonym ‘Xuxo Rondinaire.’ This individual is suspected of being a member of the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalonia’s police force) and of using their internal knowledge to assist the Democratic Tsunami movement.
Upon receiving the recovery email from Proton Mail, Spanish authorities further requested Apple to provide additional details linked to that email, leading to the identification of the individual.
This case is particularly noteworthy because it involves a series of requests across different jurisdictions and companies, highlighting the complex interplay between technology firms, user privacy, and law enforcement. The requests were made under the guise of anti-terrorism laws, despite the primary activities of the Democratic Tsunami involving protests and roadblocks, which raises questions about the proportionality and justification of such measures.
Like before, Proton Mail’s compliance with these requests is bound by Swiss law, which mandates cooperation with international legal demands that are formalized through proper channels (Swiss court system).
Last year, when we noted that Proton Mail complied with nearly 6,000 data requests in 2022, Proton provided us with an explanation that inbox contents remain secure.
Please note that in all cases email content, attachments, files etc are always encrypted and cannot be read.
Proton statement to RestorePrivacy last year
Looking at Proton’s transparency report, we find that Proton Mail complied with 5,971 data requests last year alone, up slightly from the year before."
NotQball wrote
The Law Firm that I use once in a decade uses Proton VPN and Proton email. It is more of an advertising gimmick. I offered, I rarely do for this profession, to set them up, but they refused saying it will make them a target. I personally did not have any luck setting a free account or it was closed in a few days. I would be very careful with any Swiss claims in general... bullshit is their way of living.