ProtonMail gave the French police the IP address of an activist after a European warrant, although until now it claimed that it does not keep records.
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End-to-end encrypted email provider ProtonMail is facing criticism after it caved in to a legal request and handed over an activist's IP address to Swiss police at the request of France.
The Swiss-based company said it had received a "legally binding order from the Swiss Federal Ministry of Justice" about a group called Youth for Climate, to which it was "forced to comply", forcing it to provide the IP address and related information. for the device type used by the group to access the ProtonMail account.
On its website, ProtonMail advertises that : “No personal information is required to create your secure email account. By default, we do not keep IP logs that can be linked to your anonymous email account. Your privacy comes first.”
Despite its no-IP logging policy , the company acknowledged that it would have to hand over IPs if Swiss authorities requested them. It may not be obligated to provide information to foreign police authorities, but… if they request it through Europol and therefore through Swiss authorities, it would have to comply.
“There was no possibility of appealing or fighting this specific request because an act contrary to Swiss law was indeed carried out,” the company said in a lengthy response posted on Reddit.
Simply put, ProtonMail will not only have to comply with Swiss government orders, but will also be forced to hand over data when people using its service engage in activities that are considered illegal in their country.
It does not matter what the Youth for Climate team did and is being pursued by the French police. The meaning of the news is that the much-advertised anonymity has many asterisks and windows. Even if it is advertised in capital letters, as in ProtonMail. If nothing else, ProtonMail users who are concerned about the visibility of their IPs will now have to use a VPN or access the email service through the Tor network for additional anonymity.
Wanting to gild the pill, ProtonMail added: "The prosecution in this case seems quite aggressive. "Unfortunately, this is a pattern that we are seeing more and more in recent years around the world, for example in France where terrorism laws are being used inappropriately."
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