Joseph CoxMar 5
New from 404 Media: Proton Mail, the privacy-focused email service, gave authorities data that let the FBI unmask an anonymous 'Stop Cop City' protester. It was payment data linked to the anonymous email account. From that, FBI ID'd them, then tracked their movements https://www.404media.co/proton-mail-helped-fbi-unmask-anonymous-stop-cop-city-protestor/
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.

404 Media
Show threadTroed SångbergMar 5

@josephcox All companies follow the law where they are incorporated. Proton makes it very clear that they will hand out information if the Swiss legal system presents valid documents requesting it.

The headline "Proton helped FBI" is unnecessarily inflammatory. You can do better.

Show threadAlexander The 1stMar 6
@troed @josephcox I didn't realize the FBI was Swiss - does that mean ICE should deport them to Switzerland?
Show threadTroed SångbergMar 6

@AT1ST

Yeah I think 404's headline here is absolutely appalling.

Another word would simply be "untruthful".

@josephcox

Show threadAlexander The 1stMar 6

@troed @josephcox They did help.

They could have stonewalled and taken it to court, given the nature of the information, given that the Swiss legal system is there.

Again, far as I can tell, the FBI aren't the Swiss legal system, so they could have (And arguably should have) fought this request for billing information. That they had the billing information and not, for example, an Irish-domain Stripe token for a given transaction, is still worrying.

Show threadTroed Sångberg

@AT1ST The weren't responding to FBI but a valid Swiss judicial request for information.

That's why the headline is wrong.

@josephcox

Mar 6 at 12:09pmWeb
Show threadAlexander The 1stMar 6
@troed @josephcox ...The point is they didn't do any pushback because the Swiss judicial system was acting as a go-between for the U.S. investigation system.
Show threadTroed SångbergMar 6

@AT1ST

"This wasn't a routine investigation. Swiss authorities determined that the legal threshold was met because a law enforcement officer was shot, and explosive devices were found during a protest in 2024. Switzerland has one of the strongest legal frameworks for privacy in the world, and its standard for granting international legal assistance is exceptionally high. This case met that standard. "

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1rlt75p/comment/o8xtkgt/

The keyboard warrior purity tests are quite lame.

@josephcox