Let’s make a comparison between what the ProtonMail website used to say and what it says now regarding IP logs: ProtonMail has also changed its terms of service about IP logging. It does seem that Proton had no other option than to comply with this individual order. ProtonMail’s main argument is that there was no legal basis for them to fight this court order, and there wasn’t anything else they could do in this particular and individual case.Īnalyzing current Swiss legislation and regulations, this does seem to be the case, meaning that Proton had no other legal option than to comply with this order.Īs such, one can conclude that the backlash against the company might be unwarranted and exaggerated. Due to Proton’s strict privacy, we do not know the identity of our users ” The post further explained that the company could not know users’ identities: Under current Swiss law, email and VPN are treated differently, and ProtonVPN cannot be compelled to log user data.” The blog post also explained that the company’s VPN service, ProtonVPN, is being treated differently from a legal perspective:

We only comply with legally binding orders from Swiss authorities.” ProtonMail does not give data to foreign governments that’s illegal under Article 271 of the Swiss Criminal code. Under no circumstances can our encryption be bypassed, meaning emails, attachments, calendars, files, etc., cannot be compromised by legal orders.” Proton also clarified the following important points: There was no possibility to appeal this particular request.“

“In this case, Proton received a legally binding order from Swiss authorities which we are obligated to comply with. In a clarification about the case, ProtonMail published a blog post in which they commented the following:

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