This should surprise exactly nobody after it was disclosed back in [checks notes] 2021 that ProtonMail gave up user data to law enforcement and also changed their TOS.

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gruez a day ago | parent [-]

>after it was disclosed back in [checks notes] 2021 that ProtonMail gave up user data to law enforcement and also changed their TOS.

You shouldn't even need that. A warrant isn't a strongly worded letter that they can just turn down. It's the law. Therefore you should assume that if the police can get a warrant, they can get your data. Even for people who don't follow the law (criminals), there's no guarantee they won't snitch on you.

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brokensegue a day ago | parent [-]

they used to claim that being Swiss based protected them from warrants like this

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gruez a day ago | parent | next [-]

Source? We need the exact claim here, because there's a fine line between "we're in switzerland, so warrants aren't a thing!" (outright false) and "we're in switzerland, which have better privacy laws than other countries!" (debatable).

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latexr a day ago | parent | next [-]

I’m not the person who made the claim, but a basic web search led me to this page on their blog:

https://proton.me/blog/data-privacy-abortion

Quote (emphasis theirs, in bold):

> Switzerland is a fundamentally different environment. Two of the things Switzerland is most famous for are also highly conducive to data protection: privacy and neutrality.

> When a law enforcement agency in the US requests user data from a Swiss company, it is illegal for that company to provide the data. At Proton, we reject all data requests from foreign agencies.

> Proton and other Swiss companies will only hand over user data when ordered to do so by a Swiss authority. And even then, Proton’s general policy is to challenge data requests whenever possible and only comply after all legal remedies have been exhausted.

So maybe your parent poster is confused? They do claim that being Swiss protects them from requests from foreign entities, but not Swiss entities. Which is what happened here, the Swiss authorities asked Proton for the data, then they handed it to the FBI.

Has Proton challenged the data and “only complied after all legal remedies have been exhausted”, though? That’s another question.

	▲	wildzzz 21 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I wonder if the FBI knew it was going to be a pain in the ass asking for actual account access from the Swiss so they asked for financial records instead. Terrorism charges look pretty serious (regardless of how legitimate they are) so I'm sure that's what pushed the Swiss and Proton to comply.

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a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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SoftTalker a day ago | parent | prev [-]

But the Swiss have the notion of a warrant, no? So if a Swiss judge or official issues a proper warrant, then a Swiss company or citizen is obliged to comply with it.

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CodeWriter23 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Read the wording, they aren't complying with US warrants, they are complying with Swiss-issued warrants. US LE/Intel agencies figured out this loophole some 20 years ago.

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jojobas a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Swiss police requested the data and handed it to the FBI.

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brookst 19 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Citation needed. They really said they were above Swiss law?

	▲	10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		[deleted]