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Flirting with Trump is flirting with Nazism - Response to Andy Yen (CEO of Proton AG) on Reddit 📢📢📢 (lemmy.ml)

submitted 12 hours ago by Blaze@lemmy.zip to c/privacy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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andy1011000 Proton CEO posted:

“People honestly seem to forget that I live in Switzerland, where Republican/Democrat doesn’t mean anything, and Trump isn’t even on our ballot to be voted for…”

Onyx376. replied:

“The point is that fighting for a more just and equal society is not just about fighting for the fundamental right to privacy but also for all other fundamental rights, including individual rights and life. When you, as the CEO of a company that starts from these principles, nod positively to whatever action a political figure like Trump, who is known for always flagrantly putting his private interests ahead of those of his own nation, makes speeches about eliminating minorities, hurting their rights as citizens and flirting with Nazi movements, it is understandable that members of the privacy community are disappointed as this reveals a little about who is being the face of a company that should follow contrary principles. But now we really know what “freedom” means to you.”

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[-] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 78 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

People honestly seem to forget that I live in Switzerland, where Republican/Democrat doesn’t mean anything

Yeah but Nazism does mean something in Switzerland. Nobody forgot that the Swiss weren't that uncomfortable working with the Nazis.

"I live in Switzerland" isn't a great defense when you're accused of licking an American fascist's boots.

[-] fxomt@lemm.ee 38 points 11 hours ago

I'm feeling very conflicted on this overall. I love proton and I'm not even American, but this whole fiasco is making me think of moving.

They handled this very unprofessionally, and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable trusting them anymore.

Can anyone recommend me some alternatives for some proton software?

[+] ddash@lemmy.dbzer0.com -7 points 11 hours ago

While I get the sentiment, what could possibly happen to Proton that makes it unsafe and you wouldn't know? We already known they do comply with the law and hand over basic information.

But they do not give access or decrypt the actual content of your mailbox and that's not because they choose not to but because it is technically not possible, or am I wrong about that. If the plan to change that it would hopefully become obvious through some announcements.

[-] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 hours ago

If you complie your clients, Proton cannot decrypt your data.

But there's a lot more than Proton can do.

They could log your IP, the exact time you log in or use Proton services

They could keep a copy of every email you receive, most of them are probably unencrypted.

If you use VPN, they could log everything you do, they wont be able to decrypt the HTTPS data, but if they log all your traffic, it defeats the purpose of using a VPN.

They could potentially swap the web javascript, if you ever log in via browser.

When you send emails to another Protonmail user, Proton could potentially do a mitm and swap Proton's public key and make the other user's client think its your public key, and also give Proton's public key, and make your client think its that user's public key. Proton essentially act as a keyserver, so they could maliciously replace keys.

And most people don't compile their user clients, so if you just download the clients they compile, they could just not use the source code to compile it, sending you a malicious client.

There's just a lot of attack vectors if the company itself becomes hostile.

[-] fxomt@lemm.ee 38 points 11 hours ago

It's moreso the trust factor for me. Proton is secure, I know; but the company behind it has been making many bad decisions lately.

They were extremely unprofessional dealing with this. I mean, who comments their own political views on a company account then doubles down??? That's just stupid to me.

I should have specified that I might not even switch off of proton, I'd like to know alternatives JIC shit hits the fan :(

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 6 points 4 hours ago

The security vulnerability behind any decent VPN is the VPN provider. When they're signalling support of fascists and technocrats you need to move on because their mask slipped and their real motives have been exposed. The sheer gall it takes to pretend you can believe Trump supports privacy goals is laughable.

The question is really who is an actual alternative.

[-] fxomt@lemm.ee 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

The question is really who is an actual alternative.

None, really.

All companies have skeletons in their closets, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. I don't trust companies, but not everyone can self-host. As for your question; Mullvad seems good, but be wary.

[-] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 16 points 10 hours ago

Same. After the whole AI fiasco and the crypto fiasco, this is just adding insult to injury.

[-] atro_city@fedia.io 7 points 9 hours ago

Oh shit, what did I miss?

[-] ddash@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 11 hours ago

Agree, always good to be prepared

[-] dohpaz42@lemmy.world 30 points 11 hours ago

I just signed up with proton and was strongly considering moving my Gmail account to their services. But this thing with their CEO is giving me great pause.

I guess it goes to show that no matter what, all ceos/rich people are simply out of touch and cannot be trusted. It is greatly disappointing.

[-] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Point of order: not the CEO, a board member. Doesn't change a ton but worth noting.

[-] fraksken@infosec.pub 5 points 10 hours ago

I'm out of the loop. What happened?

[-] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 31 points 10 hours ago

Proton CEO turns out to be a far right nut that has a hard on for Trump and everyone that's paying for privacy (AKA their entire customer base) is pretty allergic to authoritarians.

[-] Blaze@lemmy.zip 9 points 10 hours ago

https://lemmy.world/post/24301835

this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2025

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