Unnecessary and deeply concerning bow to the new "king"
Update: position got backed up by an official Proton post on Mastodon, it's an official Proton statement now. https://mastodon.social/@protonprivacy/113833073219145503
Update 2, plot-twist: they removed this response from Mastodon - seems they realize it exploded into their face!
Oh, goddammit.
The writing was on the wall for proton for a while now
No it hasn't. Back this claim up with some evidence
I wouldn't call it "writing on the wall," but they have done some not-so-good things over the last few years:
This is why I personally decided against Proton.
These are useful data for making decisions about using their service, but not exactly indicative of support for a right wing authoritarian leader who lies more in one day than he has hairs on his entire body.
Edit: typo
Mostly true, that's why I opened with "I wouldn’t call it writing on the wall." But for me, it shows that they are not as privacy- and consumer-focused as they like to present themselves. Supporting Trump is just five steps further in this direction. (That's just how I feel about it.)
Standing up for the little guy. Huh. Is that why billionaires and CEO are throwing literal tens of millions at Trump? Why he staffed his cabinet with billionaires? Why the center of his policy is tax cuts for the giga wealthy, at the expense of everyone else and the national debt, at a time where wealth inequality is literally tearing the country apart?
https://www.axios.com/2025/01/15/trump-windfall-fundraising-500-million
https://www.axios.com/2024/12/09/trump-wealth-cabinet-politicians-billionaires
These are objective, public facts. Like, I'm way more conservative than Lemmy’s center and willing acknowledge any good Trump does, but what reality is this guy living in? Who is this statement for? Who the heck does he think is using Proton services? He just pissed off his employees and customers for… What?
The official @protonprivacy@mastodon.social account replied and doubled down
protonprivacy@mastodon.social - @jonah
Corporate capture of Dems is real. In 2022, we campaigned extensively in the US for anti-trust legislation.
Two bills were ready, with bipartisan support. Chuck Schumer (who coincidently has two daughters working as big tech lobbyists) refused to bring the bills for a vote.
At a 2024 event covering antitrust remedies, out of all the invited senators, just a single one showed up - JD Vance.
1/2
protonprivacy@mastodon.social - @jonah By working on the front lines of many policy issues, we have seen the shift between Dems and Republicans over the past decade first hand.
Dems had a choice between the progressive wing (Bernie Sanders, etc), versus corporate Dems, but in the end money won and constituents lost.
Until corporate Dems are thrown out, the reality is that Republicans remain more likely to tackle Big Tech abuses.
2/2
(Less importantly, my response)
So sounds like their main concern is addressing the abuses of the FAANG monopolies, and only a Republican has talked to them about it.
I guess that is understandable in that very narrow lens, but it's a bit laughable considering how all the big tech companies are also cozying up to the Trump administration. All this has done for me is make me wary of anything Proton does now.
These fuckers act like they've never heard of Lina Khan. Let's see if Republicans try to replace her with someone with a stronger track record. Or, if they're so serious about tech competition maybe they'll get on board with net neutrality.
And look, I actually like Gail Slater (the Trump nominee that kicked off this thread). She's got some bona fides, and I welcome Republicans taking antitrust more seriously, and rolling back the damage done by Robert Bork and his adherents (including and probably most significantly Ronald Reagan).
But to pretend that Democrats are less serious about antitrust than Republicans ignores the huge moves that the Biden administration have made in this area, including outside of big tech.
By my lights your response is quite effective, and while I appreciate the modesty I think it's appropriate to bring it over here:
Unfortunately, there's a line beyond which it's not okay to view a political party through one issue, and IMO the Republicans have crossed that line.
Privacy is a human rights issue. Republicans have signaled very strongly that they're going to violate more human rights. It's a net loss for privacy if that happens, even if big tech is a bit more restrained.
I'm sorry @protonprivacy, you've failed this test IMO. It would be one thing to say that given that the Republicans are in power, that Gail Slater is a good pick, but that's not the stance you took.
Let's not get carried away. The scope of the comment is pretty narrow if you read it closely. This is one member of a 5-person board that also includes Tim Berners-Lee. The foundation structure is also a protection against abuses.
Yes you are right, and no you are not. It is concerning and something to stay vigilent about in the upcoming times.
Let’s not get carried away. The scope of the comment is pretty narrow if you read it closely
The only thing I want to hear from you is that you actively disavow Trump, or if you feel this is going to hurt your business, at least say nothing at all. Anything other than that marks you as a shameless suck-up, and I want nothing to do with you or your business.
Ergo, I want nothing to do with Proton. It's time suck-ups pay the price and see their bottom lines drop because of their dubious choices.
Sad. The way tech companies are changing stripes, we are about to hit a surveillance state by summer
The US are a surveillance state already. But I guess it could get even worse.
Taking the time to remove Google, embraced proton mail ... Maybe it's time to just write letters and send meme post cards.
There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and that applies to tech. I pay for Proton and this is disappointing af but not shocking. Corporations and wannabe billionaires always fold to fascism.
Gonna start looking around at alternative email services to consider but I use my Proton email everywhere, so switching away is going to suck.
Very disappointing that this is the CEO and founder of Proton. I'll be moving my stuff elsewhere and deleting my account this week.
I see a lot of good discussion here. I've been on proton for years now, using my own domain. While true that Andy is one of 5 board members, and it's a nonprofit etc, these statements are raising hairs on my neck, personally.
Does anyone have a good guide on problems associated with self-hosting email?
Why does he think Trump is against big tech when he's working side by side with Musk?
He doesn't. it's just lube to help his customers swallow his bullshit
Been using their paid service for months. I have so many aliases. I'm just surprised. Surely this company knows its biggest user base has to be too educated to let this slide.
Honestly I'll still be using Proton and recommending it because it's just good and a net benefit for everyone, but goddammit Andy you should've taken Swiss neutrality to heart this time and not said anything.
I can understand being fine with a nomination that aligns with his personal interests but from there the journey to « party of small people » likely takes a convoluted path.
Why can't we have nice things?
I literally just switched over from Google a few months ago and finally got all settled in. Just great. Does anyone know of any good alternative? I know Tuta exists, are there other options?
I wonder what is the percentage of nuts tech ceos.
Seems to be abnormally high
Rich people tend not be good people in general
Another tech dipshit, whose wealth allows him to exist outside the realm of reality, bending the knee to an anti-democratic felon rapist so he can get some handouts.
Pathetic loser.
Growing up, if you had told me half or more of America would end up elevating a rapist to the presidency and prostrating themselves at his feet, I'd have laughed you out of the room. This nation has sunk LOW.
NordVPN is superior in every way. If you have ProtonVPN, dump it and swap to Nord.
NordVPN is superior in every way. If you have ProtonVPN, dump it and swap to Nord.
Have we learned nothing of the whole "spend millions upon millions on YouTube sponsorships" debacle? Nord absolutely is hiding something from us.
If you need to forward ports, AirVPN seems the best right now. Otherwise, Mullvad.
There is no way Trump wrote that tweet. It is full of punctuation and clearly gets a point across. It was clearly written by someone else. Nevertheless, time to delete protonmail.
If you think any anti trust shit is happening to any company who gave trump a million dollars, I have a used car I would like to sell you.
Oh FFS, and here I was recently considering switching to ProtonMail... fuck the fuck off.
Dear CEOs: if you're eager to suck dick, I'm sure you can find someone better than authoritarian shitheads. Have some fucking standards.
May it live forever even if they delete the toot: https://web.archive.org/web/20250115165213/https://mastodon.social/@protonprivacy/113833073219145503
I am dissapointed that my VPN is getting involved in US politics. This is not something I want for this kind of service. I dont want to debate US politics here. That being said, I cancelled my annual autorenew for April and I would like some recommendations. Originally I was deciding between Mulvad and Proton. I've also seen some people in this thread using Tuta? I am in Europe and just want a service that prioritizes anonyminity and data protection. I don't know how the dust will settle on all this Proton stuff. What would you all recommend for a provider?
I wouldn’t say he embraced Trump, I’d say he is pro-breaking big tech, since that would probably help Proton.
Bernie Sanders even came out and said “hey, if Trump wants to cap credit card interest rates, I’m with him on that.”
Trump says a lot of shit to appeal to working class people. I don’t disagree with reminding him of what he said and holding him to those things, if he’s now going to be president.
Yes I'm sure he'll crack down hard on all the tech companies that are giving him millions of dollars and kissing his feet...
What a moron.
Nooooooo not Proton! 😡
What's that, Lassie? Another platform that's not self hosted outing themselves as a chud? Well, I never!
Ffs. I just switched a ton of stuff over to proton. Hopefully this is an individuals view and not that of the company as a whole.
Really disappointing. Never imagined this from Proton. Truly dead to me now.
Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.
In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.
much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)
