In Spain, authorities successfully identified an activist from the Catalonia independence movement with the help of data from Proton Mail. The user known as Xuxo Rondinaire, suspected of being a police officer supporting the Catalan activist group Tsunami Democràtic, was exposed through data obtained from Proton Mail and Wire. Despite Tsunami Democràtic’s focus on peaceful protests, Spanish Civil Guard used counter-terrorism laws to access the information.
Proton Mail, known for its email privacy standards, cooperated with the authorities by providing the user’s backup email address. Subsequently, Apple shared details about the owner of the backup address, confirming Xuxo Rondinaire’s identity as a police officer leaking information to protest organizers. This revelation was reported by Restoreprivacy.
A spokesperson from Proton Mail, headquartered in Switzerland, emphasized the company’s commitment to confidentiality rather than user anonymity.
“While we are aware of the Spanish terrorism case involving alleged threats to the King of Spain, we generally refrain from commenting on specific instances. Proton Mail maintains minimal user data, as demonstrated by the use of Apple’s information for identification in this case…
Link from theins.ru