In an unexpected mask off “secure” email and VPN provider Proton took the stance of siding with the fascist MAGA Reps. Proton’s services are no option for me and many others any longer. Let’s collect and discuss alternatives (E2E encrypted email and VPN) here 🔐👇

Always try to provide:

-Server location (jurisdiction)

-Governance

-Integrity/trustworthiness/transparency

-User experience/ease of use (grade 1 to 10, lets take Proton as a benchmark with an 8)

-Pricing and links

If you know alternative setups, feel free to share, too.

#ProtonExodus

Background: https://lemmy.ca/comment/13913116

Edit:typo

  • Tin@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    14 days ago

    The CEO “apologized” this morning (after being duly chastised, I’m sure):

    Hi all, last night, a post from last year from my personal X account suddenly became a topic of discussion here on Reddit. I want to share a few thoughts on this to provide clarity to the community on what is Proton’s policy on politics going forward.

    First, while the X post was not intended to be a political statement, I can understand how it can be interpreted as such, and it therefore should not have been made. While we will not prohibit all employees from expressing personal political opinions publicly, it is something I will personally avoid in the future. I lean left on some issues, and right on other issues, but it doesn’t serve our mission to publicly debate this. It should be obvious, but I will say that it is a false equivalence to say that agreeing with Republicans on one specific issue (antitrust enforcement to protect small companies) is equal to endorsing the entire Republican party platform.

    Second, officially Proton must always be politically neutral, and while we may share facts and analysis, our policy going forward will be to share no opinions of a political nature. The line between facts, analysis, and opinions can be blurry at times, but we will seek to better clarify this over time through your feedback and input.

    The exception to these rules is on the topics of privacy, security, and freedom. These are necessarily political topics, where influencing public policy to defend these values, often requires engaging politically.

    The operations of Proton have always reflected our neutrality. For example, recently we refused pressure to deplatform both Palestinian student groups and Zionist student groups, not because we necessarily agreed with their views, but because we believe more strongly in their right to have their own views.

    It is also a legal guarantee under Swiss law, which explicitly prohibits us from assisting foreign governments or agencies, and allows us no discretion to show favoritism as Swiss law and Swiss courts have the final say.

    The promise we make is that no matter your politics, you will always be welcome at Proton (subject of course to adherence to our terms and conditions). When it comes to defending your right to privacy, Proton will show no favoritism or bias, and will unconditionally defend it irrespective of the opinions you may hold.

    This is because both Proton as a company, and Proton as a community, is highly diverse, with people that hold a wide range of opinions and perspectives. It’s important that we not lose sight of nuance. Agreeing/disagreeing with somebody on one point, rarely means you agree/disagree with them on every other point.

    I would like to believe that as a community there is more that unites us than divides us, and that privacy and freedom are universal values that we can all agree upon. This continues to be the mission of the non-profit Proton Foundation, and we will strive to carry it out as neutrally as possible.

    Going forward, I will be posting via u/andy1011000. Thank you for your feedback and inputs so far, and we look forward to continuing the conversation.

    Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/

    Am I being paranoid when I notice that the binary at the end of his username translates to 88?

    • nepenthes@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      14 days ago

      Someone in the comments there make a good point:

      It is so disingenuous to say “last year” when it was a little more than a month ago.

      His excuse that the social media team posted it from the official account instead of his account is farcical. This whole thing is too bad a taste in my mouth.

      • UntitledQuitting@reddthat.com
        0·
        14 days ago

        To say “I made an apolitical statement last year” when we can verify that the statement was both political and within 30 days is bizarre. He thinks we’re idiots, to boot.

    • 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘬@lemmy.ml
      0·
      13 days ago

      Wow, such a generic nonpology.

      Oh, I’m so, so sorry I was caught red-handed. I apologize for anything you guys blame me for, please keep using your product.

    • fastfomo7@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      0·
      14 days ago

      No, 88 is not a bad number. “88” is pronounced like “發發” in Taiwanese, which means ‘making fortune’. And you might also see Taiwanese people using “168” in their usernames, as it has similar meaning.

        • fastfomo7@lemmy.dbzer0.com
          0·
          14 days ago

          Sure, it could be. I wasn’t defending him.
          Just please don’t think most of us using “88” or “888” for hinting Nazis, and “666” for praying Satan.

          • Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.netEnglish
            0·
            14 days ago

            For sure. Context absolutely matters, ans the context here doesn’t establish a pattern from my understanding. So in this case it’s unlikely to be a dog whistle.

            But people should still be aware of what the 88/1448 dog whistle looks like.

          • frozenspinach@lemmy.mlEnglish
            0·
            14 days ago

            Well, like anything, it depends on context. In this context, it’s not crazy to be on high alert for weird politicized signals.

            However, I think you made a pretty good point about its meaning in Taiwan given that this fellow is apparently from there, combined with it being his year of birth. So, context decides and in this case at least it seems pretty ordinary.

        • JackbyDev@programming.devEnglish
          0·
          13 days ago

          I still think about that person who got banned from league for their name being Corona1488 and their last name was Corona and they were born on Jan 4th, 1988. I’m surprised they went so long without learning the connotations.

      • bobbyfiend@lemmy.ml
        0·
        14 days ago

        This is cool info. I also wonder, looking at his picture, if he was born in 1988. No idea, but hey.

    • Poop@lemmy.ca
      0·
      14 days ago

      Not defending the 88, he could be a racist, but he’s apparently from Taiwan. It is a common number in Chinese culture, guessing Taiwan too. Where I live there have been a couple of businesses with “88” in the name and both were Chinese.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/88_(number)

    • frozenspinach@lemmy.mlEnglish
      0·
      14 days ago

      First, while the X post was not intended to be a political statement

      Not intended to be a political statement? Even setting aside agreement vs disagreement, how is this (below) not a political statement?

      10 years ago Republicans were the party of big business and Dems stood for the little guys, but today the tables have completely turned.

      Again, regardless of whether you agree or disagree it’s like a textbook example of a political statement.

    • vga@sopuli.xyz
      0·
      13 days ago

      Am I being paranoid when I notice that the binary at the end of his username translates to 88?

      Well, there’s a good possibility that he might have been born in 1988. If not, then that doesn’t look very good.

      Personally, I think he’d be an extremely unusual neo-nazi, given his background. So perhaps a bit of Occam’s Razor should be applied here.