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Indian Government to block ProtonMail after bomb threats were sent using a ProtonMail account (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by to c/protonprivacy@lemmy.world
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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.

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[–] [S] 55 points 2 years ago (29 children)

Really amazes me how our government handles situations like these in the worst ways possible. Really hope the idiots at the top of the ladder get some braincells and see how stupid this whole debacle is

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  • [–] [S] 16 points 2 years ago* (10 children)

    The block order hasn't been initiated """yet""" but knowing the stance the Indian Government has on encryption as a whole, it's not much to go with.

    Say the service does get blocked then the app will be available through F-Droid but the website will most likely be blocked by most ISPs. if any Indian user still wishes to continue using PM if a block order is initiated then they'll most likely have to use a VPN or a proxy server or through Tor. It'll also be possible to access the website if they use a different DNS.

    I'm really hoping it doesn't end up being banned but seeing how the Indian government banned VLC a few years ago (unbanned it later on however) for the stupidest reasons possible.... Yeah it doesn't exactly induce much confidence....

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    I'm pretty sure that most people who are using Proton Mail are technologically savvy enough to bypass whatever half assed measure the government puts in place.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 2 years ago

    I agree! But it's still an issue as there are quite a few proton mail users who just wish to achieve a tad bit more privacy and aren't tech savvy. I know some folks like that myself and tbh sometimes all the technical stuff or going through hoops can just be very daunting/overwhelming at times

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I personally don’t use proton mail, since I don’t really get any e-mails so I just never use any sort of mail app, but what are some easy ways to bypass this?

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Wait, why they ban VLC?

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Some Chinese hacker group called Cicada was using VLC to distribute malicious code and conduct cyberattacks. After this the website for VLC was blocked from February to November (I can't remember for how long so this timeline might be wrong).

    At least that's what the reports says lol, the official reason was never revealed by the Indian Government which is just the cherry on top of this shit cake

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago*

    The idiots just made it easier for cicada because people could no longer download the original executable so were downloading it from shady sites where the likelihood of the executable being infected by malicious code is very high. Just like almost everywhere else, the officials here are morons.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    They never will, we have to vote them out.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    And whom do we vote in. The congress and the others are full of idiots as well. Unfortunately no smart honest person will go into Indian politics because they know that between the beauracracy and the corruption, there is no way they make an useful change.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I don't know either, but from what I know, bureaucracy and corruption is often a result of bad organizational structure. Some "designated officer" raises a finger which gets approved by the Secretary who is appointed by the minister who is appointed by the PM who is nominated by the Lok Sabha, and we lose yet another privacy protecting service. I think we should have more direct control in these matters.

    For now, if we cannot expect a proper functioning web, they cannot expect stability under their seats. Vote them out.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Indeed and as the reply above you mentioned, whom do we vote? If there is a truly good party here, It's either too unknown or too small so I suppose we can just hope for the best

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'd vote for a purely retaliatory reason. So they know that the support they have isn't as ironclad as they'd assume. But I also have bailed from there so..... ¯_(ツ)_/¯

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago*

    While it's true that voting for a purely retaliatory reason would be good but wouldn't you want your vote to have some amount of change? I'm not discrediting the integrity of the smaller parties but it really won't make much of a difference to vote for them even if it is towards a good cause simply because their size is too small to compete with the giants or even in state elections. Andhbhakts are everywhere unfortunately.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (6 children)

    But jio aldready blocks all the vpns right so i guess tor or other careers which i am guessing will follow in jio's way and i fucking switched to jio yesterday from airtel 🤦

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    • [–] 15 points 2 years ago

    Man, can’t wait to see what they do to ban those that manufacture knives the next time someone gets attacked by a criminal with one. /s

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    [–] 13 points 2 years ago (10 children)

    well they blocked every porn site in india for a different but equally stupid reason.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (9 children)

    Well i just checked because of your comment and no they are'nt banned i think the law goes something like you can't watch it in public or something.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Nah they are positively blocked, if you try to access them you'll be hit by "The website has been blocked as per direction/order of Hon’ble Court."

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Really ? I guess you must be right . Or some specific carriers are blocking anyway i don't wanna check by going into one of those sites.

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    • [–] 12 points 2 years ago

    Are they going to ban phones if someone uses one of those for the same purpose?

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    [–] [S] 11 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Btw Internet Freedom Foundation (or the IFF) filed several RTI requests (RTI = Request to information) regarding this situation. If anyone wants to follow their progress then here’s their Mastodon account: https://mastodon.world/@internetfreedom@mas.to

    The IFF is a highly trustworthy and well respected organization that fights for Indians digital rights and democratic freedoms. They’ve done a lot of good work over the years, they even helped VLC to get unblocked when it was banned in India.

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    • [–] 9 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    India is slowly becoming their neighbor everyday

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    • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    They probably typed it with a keyboard. They should ban them too.

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    [–] 3 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Will they also be blocking other proton services¿?

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    • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    Does anybody know how to email people at MeitY and complain about this decision. The official website has no useful information

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    [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    Thanks, Indian government. You've convinced me to sign up for Proton Mail

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    [–] 1 point 2 years ago*

    Blocking committee lol

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