Proton’s switch to ownership via a non-profit leaves me with deep concerns. I’m a resident/citizen of the US, and in the US it is possible for a determined outside hostile party to takeover a non-profit organization. Hostile takeover of non-profits has occurred many times in the US. Left-leaning activist organizations with government/NGO backing are many times the parties initiating the takeovers.
Proton’s core mission definitely puts it in the crosshairs of these kinds of takeover attempts.
I don’t know anything about Swiss legal structures for non-profits. How safe is the Proton Foundation for a takeover attempt? Can a determined activist organization get voted onto the board and engineer a takeover?
The Proton Foundation is a Swiss non-profit and does not have shareholders. It is therefore separated from individual financial interests and must act in the best interest of the Proton community in perpetuity. No change of control of Proton can occur without the consent of the Foundation, therefore enabling the Foundation to block hostile takeover attempts of Proton which are not aligned with our legal obligation to serve the community. Our role is to ensure that our community always comes first.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !protonprivacy@lemmy.world
Empowering you to choose a better internet where privacy is the default. Protect yourself online with
Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, Proton Drive. Proton Pass and SimpleLogin.
Proton Mail is the world’s largest secure email provider. Swiss, end-to-end encrypted, private, and free.
Proton VPN is the world’s only open-source, publicly audited, unlimited and free VPN. Swiss-based, no-ads, and no-logs.
Proton Calendar is the world’s first end-to-end encrypted calendar that allows you to keep your life private.
Proton Drive is a free end-to-end encrypted cloud storage that allows you to securely backup and share your files. It’s open source, publicly audited, and Swiss-based.
Proton Pass Proton Pass is a free and open-source password manager which brings a higher level of security with rigorous end-to-end encryption of all data (including usernames, URLs, notes, and more) and email alias support.
SimpleLogin lets you send and receive emails anonymously via easily-generated unique email aliases.
From: https://proton.me/foundation
Governance for people, not for profit
The Proton Foundation is a Swiss non-profit and does not have shareholders. It is therefore separated from individual financial interests and must act in the best interest of the Proton community in perpetuity. No change of control of Proton can occur without the consent of the Foundation, therefore enabling the Foundation to block hostile takeover attempts of Proton which are not aligned with our legal obligation to serve the community. Our role is to ensure that our community always comes first.