Unnecessary and deeply concerning bow to the new “king”

  • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Standing up for the little guy. Huh. Is that why billionaires and CEO are throwing literal tens of millions at Trump? Why he staffed his cabinet with billionaires? Why the center of his policy is tax cuts for the giga wealthy, at the expense of everyone else and the national debt, at a time where wealth inequality is literally tearing the country apart?

    https://www.axios.com/2025/01/15/trump-windfall-fundraising-500-million

    https://www.axios.com/2024/12/09/trump-wealth-cabinet-politicians-billionaires

    These are objective, public facts. Like, I’m way more conservative than Lemmy’s center and willing acknowledge any good Trump does, but what reality is this guy living in? Who is this statement for? Who the heck does he think is using Proton services? He just pissed off his employees and customers for… What?

    • UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      Probably doesn’t want to get banned in the US… Or so my copium tells me.

      Silver lining is that Proton is owned by a non-profit.

      • fishos@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        I was thinking this for a second, but is this really plausible? Normally when we talk about corporations we talk about how powerful they are and how they use different nations to locate headquarters and offices in order to mitigate legal and tax obligations. We regularly talk about how governments can’t reign them in and how they act with impunity.

        But now? “They HAVE to capitulate. They are just doing it to survive.” Really? Do we really believe that? Or is it more likely that this is what they want and if they didn’t, they’d be fighting tooth and nail to stop it? I’m with the second option honestly.

        • brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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          7 days ago

          That’s what I don’t get. If the proton CEO was actually raging MAGA, the last thing he should do, strategically, is stoke fires by stirring this up. That’s business 101.

          …He must want conservative’s ears for some kind of policy issue, maybe to the detriment of Proton’s competitors. But what?

    • Unquote0270@programming.dev
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      7 days ago

      Seems a lot of people share this view that somehow he’s for the little guy, despite quite clearly being for the opposite. It’s the same over the pond, there’s a paranoia held by many that the government is out to persecute the common people. Very strange on both sides, it’s almost Orwell levels of Newspeak.

  • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Let’s not get carried away. The scope of the comment is pretty narrow if you read it closely. This is one member of a 5-person board that also includes Tim Berners-Lee. The foundation structure is also a protection against abuses.

    • ShotDonkey@lemmy.worldOP
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      7 days ago

      Yes you are right, and no you are not. It is concerning and something to stay vigilent about in the upcoming times.

      • Ghostface@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Can’t you both be right? One it is a very narrow complement and also it be very concerning that the “small tech” is also bowing harder than big tech.

        But this may be the price for not donating?

      • JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Actually I ended up coming round to his view on this. If Firefox has stuck to its principles on DRM, then it would have been goodbye Firefox. And then you would have had no decent options at all, and neither would I. The setting is still opt-in.

        Sometimes we have to compromise.

  • orca@orcas.enjoying.yachts
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    7 days ago

    There is no ethical consumption under capitalism, and that applies to tech. I pay for Proton and this is disappointing af but not shocking. Corporations and wannabe billionaires always fold to fascism.

    Gonna start looking around at alternative email services to consider but I use my Proton email everywhere, so switching away is going to suck.

  • 7112@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Sad. The way tech companies are changing stripes, we are about to hit a surveillance state by summer

  • a4ng3l@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    I can understand being fine with a nomination that aligns with his personal interests but from there the journey to « party of small people » likely takes a convoluted path.

    • peto (he/him)@lemm.ee
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      It’s probably just a language thing. When he says small people he means sub-mega corporations. Actual humans probably pass beneath his notice.

  • RubberElectrons@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    I see a lot of good discussion here. I’ve been on proton for years now, using my own domain. While true that Andy is one of 5 board members, and it’s a nonprofit etc, these statements are raising hairs on my neck, personally.

    Does anyone have a good guide on problems associated with self-hosting email?

    • sudoer777@lemmy.ml
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      6 days ago

      If you self host it, do it on a VPS so if you’re out of town and it goes down, you don’t lose a month’s worth of emails

    • suckmyspez@lemmy.world
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      6 days ago

      Setting up is a piece of cake but getting your emails through spam filters can be a pain.

      Have you considered Tuta?

  • anarchrist@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    7 days ago

    If you think any anti trust shit is happening to any company who gave trump a million dollars, I have a used car I would like to sell you.

  • 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Proton Mail --> Mail-In-A-Box

    Proton Calender --> Mail-In-A-Box

    Proton Drive --> Mail-In-A-Box

    Proton VPN --> Mullvad VPN

    Proton Pass --> Bitwarden/KeePass+Mail-In-A-Box

    Proton Wallet --> Stick with your cryptos base wallet app. Never give your private keys to any service.

  • Zero22xx@lemmy.world
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    Ah yes, Fox News. The company that is simultaneously ‘news’ or ‘entertainment’, depending on which description serves them better at the time. These are perfect representatives for the era where billionaires are supposedly ‘anti-establishment’ and book burners that police other people’s identities and force their religion onto others are supposedly all for free speech and freedom of expression.

    I just don’t know anymore. How do you deal with people who will point at a fly and tell you that it’s a bird, while sincerely believing it?

  • egerlach@lemmy.ca
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    7 days ago

    The official @protonprivacy@mastodon.social account replied and doubled down

    protonprivacy@mastodon.social - @jonah

    Corporate capture of Dems is real. In 2022, we campaigned extensively in the US for anti-trust legislation.

    Two bills were ready, with bipartisan support. Chuck Schumer (who coincidently has two daughters working as big tech lobbyists) refused to bring the bills for a vote.

    At a 2024 event covering antitrust remedies, out of all the invited senators, just a single one showed up - JD Vance.

    1/2

    protonprivacy@mastodon.social - @jonah By working on the front lines of many policy issues, we have seen the shift between Dems and Republicans over the past decade first hand.

    Dems had a choice between the progressive wing (Bernie Sanders, etc), versus corporate Dems, but in the end money won and constituents lost.

    Until corporate Dems are thrown out, the reality is that Republicans remain more likely to tackle Big Tech abuses.

    2/2

    (Less importantly, my response)

    • frozenspinach@lemmy.ml
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      7 days ago

      By my lights your response is quite effective, and while I appreciate the modesty I think it’s appropriate to bring it over here:

      Unfortunately, there’s a line beyond which it’s not okay to view a political party through one issue, and IMO the Republicans have crossed that line.

      Privacy is a human rights issue. Republicans have signaled very strongly that they’re going to violate more human rights. It’s a net loss for privacy if that happens, even if big tech is a bit more restrained.

      I’m sorry @protonprivacy, you’ve failed this test IMO. It would be one thing to say that given that the Republicans are in power, that Gail Slater is a good pick, but that’s not the stance you took.

    • Kate-ay@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      That is somet nieve horseshit. Goddammit I don’t want to switch email providers again!

  • merde alors@sh.itjust.works
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    7 days ago

    the rich got so unbelievably rich and the poor became so insignificant / invisible that these few people in the middle think they’re the “little guys”

    wake the fuck up

  • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Another tech dipshit, whose wealth allows him to exist outside the realm of reality, bending the knee to an anti-democratic felon rapist so he can get some handouts.

    Pathetic loser.

    Growing up, if you had told me half or more of America would end up elevating a rapist to the presidency and prostrating themselves at his feet, I’d have laughed you out of the room. This nation has sunk LOW.

    NordVPN is superior in every way. If you have ProtonVPN, dump it and swap to Nord.

    • NevermindNoMind@lemmy.world
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      Growing up, if you had told me half or more of America would end up elevating a rapist to the presidency and prostrating themselves at his feet, I’d have laughed you out of the room. This nation has sunk LOW.

      Bill Clinton won reelection. Now, granted, he was not Trump levels, he was a piece of shit who at the very least abused his role and power over women. Now, even after me too, he’s a beloved elder statesman. Just saying, the nation has sunk lower, but I don’t know that’s a lot lower than where we were when we were kids.

      • DarkFuture@lemmy.world
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        Just saying, the nation has sunk lower, but I don’t know that’s a lot lower than where we were when we were kids.

        Definitely disagree. A convicted felon and adjudicated rapist who incited an insurrection against our government, illegally attempted to overturn an election, fumbled his response to the greatest American crisis since WW2, removed women’s rights, and attempts to divide Americans whenever his mouth opens is about to be sworn in as our leader.