Proton Mail Says It’s “Politically Neutral” While Praising Republican Party
theintercept.com
The “privacy-first” company surprised its user base when CEO Andy Yen lauded Trump on social media.

Summary

Proton Mail, known for its privacy-first email services, faced backlash after CEO Andy Yen praised the Republican Party and its antitrust stance.

The company initially posted and deleted a statement supporting Yen’s comments, later claiming an “internal miscommunication” and reiterating its political neutrality.

Critics question Proton’s impartiality, particularly as it cooperates with Swiss authorities on legal data requests.

Privacy advocates warn that political alignments could undermine trust, especially for Proton’s users—journalists and activists wary of government surveillance under administrations like Trump’s.

  • sudneo@lemm.ee
    11·
    7 hours ago

    https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1i2nz9v/on_politics_and_proton_a_message_from_andy/m7hfhdh/

    I will quote his own words:

    Unfortunately that was misinterpreted. If you go back to the original tweet in question, it is clear from the context that that is about “little tech” vs "big tech

    I know we are in the internet in 2025, and nobody has the right to clarify their opinion anymore, one strike and you are out, but still.

    To me it was obvious from the context to be honest, without even needing his own explanation (that you call backpedaling because good faith is never assumed). But then again, I was not looking for reasons to be outraged.

    It’s hilarious though that reporting the authors own thoughts you call misinformation. Instead drawing your own conclusions that are explicitly denied by that person is supposedly objective. If there are no more rules of logic then everything goes.

    Also this is not bootlicking, it’s just a timid defense of rationality in the face of people building castles in the air.

    • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      2 hours ago

      Yeah because cozying up buddy buddy with Trump is a castle in the air.

      It’s not like the guy was cooked on the spot and spouted an incohenrent sentence.

      The guy took the time to tag Donald Trump to show him how he’s not like the other girls , wrote out his message and thought that this was good enough to press send.

      There is a lot of deliberate actions that leads to this and takebacksies are a lot more difficult to justify.

      In that case, there is a little space for interpretation and Andy Yen is clearly in damage control.

      It is not little joe from Arkansas owning a potato farm tweeting that shit, it’s the CEO of a supposedly “neutral” company, that deals in privacy, tagging his buddy Trump. Shit like that can’t get a pass.

      Lucky for him, there are enlightened people like you that loves the smell of fresh polish directly from the boot.