PANews reported on April 30 that according to Cointelegraph, the Karnataka High Court in India ruled on April 29 to immediately ban the encrypted email service Proton Mail, citing the country's "Information Technology Act 2008" authorization. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by a design company in New Delhi in January, accusing its employees of receiving offensive emails through the service. Proton Mail faced a ban proposal in March 2024 due to "false bomb threats", but it was ultimately not implemented.
The ruling reflects the tightening of global regulation of encrypted communication platforms after Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France for content review issues. It is worth noting that Proton Mail's Swiss parent company provided user data to Spanish authorities in 2024, raising questions among privacy advocates about centralized services.
