Post #1287273

2026-03-05 21:32 UTC

@adrienne I'm no defender of Proton (looking for an offroad from them, actually), but in this case, they were compelled by legal action from the Swiss government to hand over payment data. Since the payor had used a credit card that traced back to an individual, the Swiss government could find that person. And the FBI somehow (legally?) got ahold of the data from the Swiss. This circumstance is not unique to Proton - it would apply to any legally operating business with credit card customers. 🤦

Replies (3)

@ohmu@social.seattle.wa.us 2026-03-05 21:57

@wcbdata @adrienne This is also not new. It's happened several times before. I'm a Proton anti-fan, just to be clear. I don't use them and won't until their leadership is not Maga-adjacent. But this seems like some folks might be confusing privacy with anonymity.

Open ##1287274
@adrienne@social.treehouse.systems 2026-03-06 04:19

@wcbdata Which is fair but court orders can be fought. And at a minimum users can be warned.

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@Linebyline@mastoart.social 2026-03-06 19:12

@wcbdata @adrienne That makes sense. I think what's struck a nerve in this case is how much Proton leans on being non-US, with the implication that it's safe from the US government. Which obviously isn't true if the Swiss government will just hand the data over to American feds anyway. Obviously Proton doesn't, and shouldn't, have control over the Swiss government. But if being Swiss is a selling point, it's good to be aware of what that government will do.

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