From reading that article it looks like they were only using and able to log the IP address when the person logged in to their protonmail account specifically - not VPN.

They even state that VPNs can not be forced to log under the same legal order and are treated differently so in this case it seems the activists were not using the VPN while accessing their emails.

Although I dont agree with even the logging of the email IP, it appears like the user shot themselves in the foot like that other case where someone used their real name in the username and that obviosly has to be logged in some way.

I didn't know about this. I haven't followed Proton closely for a while, but this...wow. Kinda lousy.

I wish I had heard of this earlier, that combined with these new political statements is enough for me to find something else.