Government to block ProtonMail after bomb threat: Company responds to India | - Times of India
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The Indian government has decided to block ProtonMail, an end-to-end encrypted email service, after a bomb threat was sent to private schools in Chennai. ProtonMail is working to resolve the situation and cooperate with Indian authorities. However, the company cannot directly answer to foreign law enforcement authorities.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11998237

The IT ministry has reportedly decided to issue an order blocking end-to-end encrypted email service ProtonMail. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the government is planning to block the email service at the request of the Tamil Nadu police over a hoax bomb threat sent to at least thirteen private schools in Chennai on February 8. The report says that the decision to block ProtonMail was taken at a meeting of the 69A blocking committee on Wednesday (February 14).

A Proton spokesperson told the publication that the company has received the request from MeitY “a few days ago”. “We are currently working to resolve this situation and are investigating how we can best work together with the Indian authorities to do so. We understand the urgency of the situation and are completely clear that our services are not to be used for illegal purposes. We routinely remove users who are found to be doing so and are willing to cooperate wherever possible within international cooperation agreements,” the spokesperson said.

  • @[email protected]
    11•10 months ago

    Have you tried creating an account recently with any other providers? Almost all of them require a phone number of some kind. This creates a paper trail back to the owner.

      • @[email protected]
        3•10 months ago

        Oh well please tell me. Have yet to find a way around creating a Gmail account without a valid phone number.

        • @[email protected]
          9•10 months ago

          Well a few ways . Create it on a pixelphone running GOS thru the sandboxed playstore . I also believe it works on any phone running below android 5.

          Get a fake number. Plenty of options on Google I use a paid service using Monero. Worth it , cost like 3 euro for a few hours, or a few cents for a one-time SMS.

        • UnfortunateShort
          2•10 months ago

          I recently did just that, even via VPN. They simply didn’t ask me to. Maybe a regional thing?

    • UnfortunateShort
      2•10 months ago

      You will find services that provide you with a phone number that can be traced back to no one, if you dig a little… In some countries you can straight up just buy an eSIM with a false identity