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.”

  • dohpaz42@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    23 hours 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.

      • ERROR: Earth.exe has crashed@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        7·
        12 hours ago

        Proton AG is kinda complicated.

        So its majority shareholder is the Proton Foundation, a non-profit. Andy Yen is one of five members of the Proton Foundation. But Proton AG is still a for-profit corporation, and it still has a CEO. Andy Yen is the CEO of Proton AG.

        Basically:

        Proton AG (owns every Proton service) = For Profit

        It’s Shareholders are:

        • Proton Foundation (majority share) (Non-Profit)
        • FONGIT (the Fondation Genevoise pour l’Innovation Technologique) (I’m pretty sure this is also a non-profit)

        And within the Proton Foundation, is the five members of the board of trustees, one of them is Andy Yen. And its apparant that the board of the Proton Foundation has appointed one of its members, Andy Yen, as the CEO of Proton AG.

        This actually confusing for me as well, but the TLDR is, Andy Yen is both a member of the board at Proton Foundation, and simultaneously the CEO of Proton AG.

        • dustyData@lemmy.world
          2·
          1 hour 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.

      • massive_bereavement@fedia.io
        71·
        22 hours 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
          2·
          11 hours 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
            2·
            7 hours 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…