There seems to be a lot of confusion here about the ownership structure of Proton… “the CEO is beholden to shareholders!!!”, etc…

Proton is not a publicly traded company… The largest shareholder is the non-profit whose mission is as follows:

Proton was created to serve the world, and the non-profit Proton Foundation ensures that this can never change. As Proton’s primary shareholder, the foundation exercises its control to ensure that Proton does not deviate from our mission to build a better internet that serves the interests of all of society. Our legally binding purpose is to further the advancement of privacy, freedom, and democracy around the world.

https://proton.me/foundation

please contact the Board of Trustees and ask for the removal of the CEO and CTO

mailto: foundation@proton.me

At least one of the Board members is on Mastodon

Tim Berners-Lee: https://w3c.social/@timbl (yes, THAT guy… the inventor or the mother-flipping internets world wide web)

Email alternatives are incredibly hard to build… it’s not like forking a software repo if the devs go off the deep end. Proton is worth trying to save if the alternatives are going back to google or switching to some other small time player who is equally suceptible to having a CEO ruin everything without the governance structure to make changes like Proton (in theory) has.

Let’s at least try

  • sapling386@thelemmy.clubEnglish
    2·
    14 hours ago

    I wrote to them and let them know that if Yen is still there when my account comes up for renewal, I’m gone.

  • begrudgedcarfolk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    271·
    3 days ago

    I don’t think anyone is saying that Proton can’t be salvaged, we’re trying to pressure them to shit canning Andy Yen. The most effective way to get the boards attention is to affect customer retention.

    • akilou@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      So what is your plan, to cancel your subscription and move everything elsewhere, then when they make a change, move everything back?

    • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      12·
      3 days ago

      i’m not sure crippling them financially is the best route… effective, but maybe not the best for the future of the company (if they decide to change course…) it’s not like they’re a silicon valley company flush with VC money to absorb the losses. they’re already saying that revenue isn’t where they want it to be…

      • begrudgedcarfolk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        21·
        2 days ago

        So let me get this straight, we should keep paying them for poor mismanagement? Would you continue to buy contaminated food solely because it was the only local independently operated grocery store?

        Maybe they should focus on the product instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on LTT ads? Maybe the executives should be forced to take a pay cut because they’re bad at their jobs, or better yet, fired and replaced with someone competent? I’m not in the camp of giving money to companies who allow their executives to abuse their employees.

          • wholookshere@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            1·
            2 days ago

            How many chances does he get?

            Because this is his first big controversy here. There was praising Donald trump and IIRC also donated.

            • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
              2·
              2 days ago

              By writing to the board of directors first…

              This is a non-profit organization… i tend to treat it more like a community i am part of rather than just another business transaction i can just quit and leave any time

              Maybe i am just naive

              • begrudgedcarfolk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
                2·
                2 days ago

                But it’s not a non-profit, it’s a for-profit that’s majority owned (51%) by a non-profit foundation… For now. The board can always decide to issue more shares and dilute the control of the non-profit or the board of the non-profit can decide to sell its shares for whatever reason. It’s an unnecessarily complicated ownership structure. Signal is actually non-profit and doesn’t have any of these issues.

                Also, I’d like to point out that if it was a lower level employee spouting fascist nonsense they would have no problem firing them immediately and distancing themselves from the hateful comments, but CEOs almost always geta free pass to continue being pieces of shit and we’re told to give them a chance and that it’s their personal view and not the view of the company. It’s bullshit. Andy NEEDS to GO!

  • akilou@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    16·
    3 days ago

    Already did. Here’s what I wrote, feel free to use it for inspiration.

    Hi Proton Foundation Team,

    I’ve been a Proton customer since 2022 on the Unlimited plan and the free tier for some years before that. I’m writing because I really believe in your mission, people before profits, and I want to stay a customer. But I’m getting pretty worried about what’s going on internally, specifically regarding Andy Yen’s leadership.

    Recent reporting ([the 404 Media piece](https://www.404media.co/manifestos-fear-and-loser-thinking-inside-protons-ai-reckoning/ “the 404 Media piece”)) describes a pretty toxic environment: employees being called “losers,” tracking software to monitor AI usage, and pressure to use AI even when security teams have concerns. If the culture is punishing people for raising red flags, that feels like a huge risk for a privacy company.

    Beyond the immediate morale issues, I’m concerned this atmosphere will repel top engineering and product management talent. The best security experts and PMs won’t stick around where they’re treated poorly or where their warnings are ignored. And if there’s a casual attitude toward essential safeguards like penetration testing just to move faster on AI, that’s a direct threat to the product’s integrity.

    This is exactly why your oversight role exists. As the non-profit shareholder tasked with ensuring Proton never deviates from its mission, I need to know you’re stepping in. Can you clarify how you’re handling these concerns? Specifically:

    * How is AI-generated code being reviewed for security if engineers are afraid to speak up?

    * What’s the Foundation doing about the reported bullying and fear tactics?

    * Are you monitoring how this culture affects talent retention and security rigor?

    I’m not looking for a PR spin, just some transparency. I trust the mission, but I’m starting to doubt the execution.

    Thanks for listening,

    • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      thank you for your help!

      i didn’t even bother asking questions…

      ensure that Proton does not deviate from our mission…

      i just listed all the ways that shouting down engineers, shipping things quickly without QA, and over-reliance on AI are clearly detrimental to a mission of privacy, freedom, trust, and community… it’s not even up for debate at this point. remove the CEO and CTO and put someone in charge who will restore trust and accountability.

  • loke@fedia.io
    12·
    3 days ago

    Thanks. I wrote an email to them. Not sure anyone is going to care, but at least I did what I can. If nothing changes, I’m off of this service.