A French climate activist has been arrested after the private email service ProtonMail cooperated with authorities after a court ruling, logging details of a user before providing it to the police to identify a French citizen.On Monday, Andy Yen, the founder and CEO of Proton, the company behind the Swiss email provider ProtonMail, published a statement saying that he deplored the way legal tools had been used to bring about the arrest of a French climate change activist, but claimed his service was still secure.
“In this case, Proton received a legally binding order from Swiss authorities which we are obligated to comply with. There was no possibility to appeal this particular request,” Yen wrote.
The data was requested as part of a wider investigation into the occupation of a number of Paris flats and commercial properties by climate activists. While attempting to remain anonymous, one of the activists had used the address “jmm18@protonmail.com” in online postings.
French police sought to find the person behind the account and registered a request with a court in Switzerland – the home of ProtonMail – with the help of Europol. Being a Swiss entity, the firm abides by that country’s laws, meaning foreign requests, such as the one put forward by the French and Europol, would only be acted upon if approved by a Swiss court.
Read More – https://www.rt.com/news/534130-swiss-protonmail-french-climate/