andy1011000 Proton CEO posted:

“People honestly seem to forget that I live in Switzerland, where Republican/Democrat doesn’t mean anything, and Trump isn’t even on our ballot to be voted for…”

Onyx376. replied:

“The point is that fighting for a more just and equal society is not just about fighting for the fundamental right to privacy but also for all other fundamental rights, including individual rights and life. When you, as the CEO of a company that starts from these principles, nod positively to whatever action a political figure like Trump, who is known for always flagrantly putting his private interests ahead of those of his own nation, makes speeches about eliminating minorities, hurting their rights as citizens and flirting with Nazi movements, it is understandable that members of the privacy community are disappointed as this reveals a little about who is being the face of a company that should follow contrary principles. But now we really know what “freedom” means to you.”

  • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
    322·
    3 months ago

    People honestly seem to forget that I live in Switzerland, where Republican/Democrat doesn’t mean anything

    Yeah but Nazism does mean something in Switzerland. Nobody forgot that the Swiss weren’t that uncomfortable working with the Nazis.

    “I live in Switzerland” isn’t a great defense when you’re accused of licking an American fascist’s boots.

    • chaoticnumber@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      16·
      3 months ago

      I cancelled my proton the other day, right after his post.

      As alternatives:

      • tuta for mail
      • psono, keepass, passbolt (self hosted) for the password manager
      • mullvad for vpn ( actually never used the proton one, I swear by mullvad)

      Im still figuring out the drive, thinking of self hosting that too.

      Good luck out there.

    • ddash@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      06·
      3 months ago

      While I get the sentiment, what could possibly happen to Proton that makes it unsafe and you wouldn’t know? We already known they do comply with the law and hand over basic information.

      But they do not give access or decrypt the actual content of your mailbox and that’s not because they choose not to but because it is technically not possible, or am I wrong about that. If the plan to change that it would hopefully become obvious through some announcements.

  • dohpaz42@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    3 months ago

    I just signed up with proton and was strongly considering moving my Gmail account to their services. But this thing with their CEO is giving me great pause.

    I guess it goes to show that no matter what, all ceos/rich people are simply out of touch and cannot be trusted. It is greatly disappointing.

      • massive_bereavement@fedia.io
        121·
        3 months ago

        Proton CEO turns out to be a far right nut that has a hard on for Trump and everyone that’s paying for privacy (AKA their entire customer base) is pretty allergic to authoritarians.

        • frayedpickles@lemmy.cafeEnglish
          4·
          3 months ago

          I wouldn’t bet on that. Just visit matrix if you want to see how many far right nutters there are who are also into privacy.

          • massive_bereavement@fedia.io
            3·
            3 months ago

            Now that you mention it, I read in several places how there were multiple active efforts to convert people on the left to the right through many ways.

            E.g., “you care for the planet? Then less people is a good thing, then immigration is a bad thing.” “You dislike government overreach? Then dismantling the federal government is a good thing.” Etc… Etc…

        • dustyData@lemmy.world
          4·
          3 months ago

          Talk about a conflict of interests. How can he uphold a non-profit and a for profit role mission at the same time? (Spoilers: he can’t) it completely contradicts the reason why the foundation and the company are different entities. They should be a counterweight to each other. This is like the same politician being president, head of Parliament, and Supreme court judge. At that point you have monarchy with extra steps.

            • dustyData@lemmy.world
              3·
              3 months ago

              Oh, him stealing money is not my concern. He’s a millionaire, he already has plenty of venues to make more money than humanly conceivable.

              The concern is that he can compromise the mission on the nonprofit side with decisions made as a leader of the for profit company with lesser oversight and higher discretion. Because he wears the same hat of the person that should be his counterpart. And there would be a delay for evaluation of his actions as the board won’t supervise his every move day to day, that’s not what they’re there for and most boards delegate this discretion to executives with explicit clauses to only evaluate strategic performance. That can be manipulated given enough time and resources.

              As for making money out of nonprofits, I envy your naïveté. I shall suggest you read “The revolution will not be funded”, for a clear example of how nonprofits are exploited to make more money for the trustees.

              The swiss government might prosecute a person for fraud if they’re accused, but otherwise won’t move a single finger if a nonprofit is not fulfilling their mission. They’re even more liberal regarding freedom of association than the US. Removing board members is not a power they have, such a thing infringes on fundamental human rights.

  • shadow@lemmy.sdf.org
    5·
    3 months ago

    Time for a new CEO. Would be great is they went with a nonprofit board with explicit privacy/public good bylaws and at least 1 member elected from the user base… But that’s pretty wishful thinking, huh…