Category: Media Criticism

A recent article from 404 Media caused an outcry in privacy circles when it led with the title “Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester.” When broken down word by word, every word at the top of the article is technically accurate – but reading the story presents a picture of events that is far removed from the incendiary headline. Proton – a Switzerland-based tech company with a privacy-forward approach built into its products – was compelled by the Swiss government to produce payment information subpoenaed by the FBI to identify the user who registered an account associated with the Stop Cop City social media pages. Social media users who shared the story after seeing the headline announced their disappointment in Proton’s cooperation with the FBI, discussed moving to other providers, and lamented the difficulty of finding truly privacy-focused products that will protect user information. All of which is exceptionally frustrating because the full text of the article demonstrated that: However, all of this very pertinent information was hidden behind 404 Media‘s paywall. The parts of the article visible without a subscription were the attention-getting headline and an initial two paragraphs that heavily implied that Proton was misleading users about the privacy claims relating to their services. Further paragraphs added back necessary context and caveats. Proton collects a minimal amount of user data and recommends that users take steps to protect their information, Proton offers anonymous payment options, and there was no direct cooperation between Proton and the FBI. Additionally, the article later clarifies that the person whose data was shared was not charged for any crimes. It is tremendously irresponsible to publish limited, fear-inducing information at the top of a story and put the accurate context behind a paywall. The number of tech-literate, security-aware internet users is vanishingly small. People want privacy but they don’t know how to configure it for themselves so they rely on accessible services like Proton to keep their data out of the hands of predatory companies. A headline that screams “your privacy tools are selling you out” is likely to push low-tech-literate users to back away from the tools in question, but the publisher has no interest in providing these kinds of readers with either alternatives or assurance. It makes the world less private, and makes users less secure when they back away from services like Proton VPN out of the fear stoked by reporting of the sort seen in 404‘s article. Information wants to be free, but misinformation is what gets paid. Leading with an overblown, alarming headline to get clicks while locking accurate reporting behind a paywall is a reprehensible practice that should be noted and criticized wherever it appears.