ProtonMail voluntarily offers Assistance for Real-Time Surveillance
ProtonMail voluntarily offers Assistance for Real-Time Surveillance
The following text is an unofficial English translation of the article ProtonMail bietet freiwillig Hand für Echtzeit-Überwachungen as published on 23 May 2019 in German. The translation was arranged for …
From 2019, but still [this fullstop signals not only the end of that sentence, but also the end of this statement]. And here [those two words indicate that new information/context is being added; it is being indicated that we now no longer talk about the article, which the uneditorialized post title references and the post link leads to] something a bit more recent about the glorious “swiss privacy” [this makes it further clear that the following is about swiss privacy in general and not about Proton] https://www.republik.ch/2024/01/09/der-bund-ueberwacht-uns-alle
key points
[they were added because the main article is about Proton and written in english and because OP assumed that most in here are unable to read german and care less about general swiss privacy than they do care about Proton]
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New reporting based on documents and court records shows that since 2017, the internet traffic of Swiss citizens has been massively monitored and read when it crosses borders, which happens routinely even for communication within Switzerland.
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The intelligence service's claims that purely domestic Swiss internet traffic is collected are false, given how internet routing actually works. Traffic flows across borders dynamically, not through static "cables" as claimed.
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All data is stored and searched, including retrospectively, meaning the intelligence service builds an ever growing haystack of private communication to dig through. This includes communication from journalists and lawyers that should be protected.
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In 2023, steps were taken to expand monitoring further by requiring more Swiss internet providers to enable access to their infrastructure, including providers that don't directly deal with cross-border traffic. This contradicts previous claims about how the monitoring would work.
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Critics argue this invalidates assurances given earlier by the government and intelligence officials and constitutes mass surveillance that violates civil liberties. There are plans in 2024 to revise the intelligence law again, possibly to retroactively legalize monitoring practices already occurring.
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Jezus Christ, what a misleading post. This only has to do with Proton in the sense of:
"Company doesn't move country after information becomes public that state intelligence is as scummy as that of neighboring countries."
This does not imply Proton to be involved or offer assistance. This does not mean it invalidates Proton's use of Swiss privacy as a selling point. It's better than what you get in many countries. Sad? Sure, but that's where we are, currently.
Privacy on the internet can hardly ever be guaranteed, there's just best case scenarios on an individual level. Be critical of the companies you trust with your data, obfuscate what you can, use secure connections and encryption where possible, be smart with what you share and pray you never become a target for state intelligence. That's the most attainable level of privacy for most of us.
These types of defamatory posts seem like personal attacks born from personal disillusionment and a flawed understanding of either the tech, the laws governing it or the political context around it.
Lastly, if you feel passionate enough to be an activist, attack the system, not the cogs.