Oh it is for you, but you have to be careful. Proton won't try to find out info you didn't give them, but they can't pretend that they don't have info that they actually have. They run an onion service, and account recovery is made possible without a recovery contact.
I do not blame Proton for complying with a request - it is a completely expected action from a company. However, I would blame them for advertising that makes them seem safer than they are for people who don't know better.