The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ordered the Central government authorities to take action to block the operation of Proton Mail in India. .Justice M Nagaprasanna issued the direction while dealing with a petition filed by a company named M Moser Design Associates India Private Ltd (petitioner) after vulgar emails about its employee were sent using Proton Mail to other employees and the company's clients..The petitioner had flagged risks posed by the continued operation of Proton Mail in India, given the high degree of anonymity it offers to its users. The petitioner called for appropriate directions to either regulate Proton Mail's operations in India or block it."A mandamus is issued to Respondents 2, 4, and 5 (Central government authorities) to issue proceedings in terms of Section 69A of IT Act 2008 read with rule 10 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access Of Information By Public) Rules, 2009 to block Proton Mail bearing in mind the observations made in the course of the order," the Court ordered today. .The Court reasoned that the anonymous nature of Proton Mail has eventually led it to become a menace, as it is even being used to send bomb threats. While so, the Court held that Proton's administrators have failed to comply with Indian law by remaining opaque on the handling of such misuse of its email service.“Proton AG undoubtedly falls short of the duties prescribed under Indian Law. Its inaction and opacity strike at the heart of digital accountability and embolden the malicious ... this Court fails to understand the complacency of the Union of India in not taking action towards blocking the Proton Mail, as the generation of torrent of mails from the mail box of Proton AG including hoax bomb mails threatening the security of the Nation, have not stopped," the Court said.It added that it cannot be a mute spectator. "Courts cannot remain mute spectators when faced with such menace which undermines privacy and integrity of women in particular. Protecting the society is the joint responsibility of service providers, content providers, law makers. It is the duty of the State to bring such perpetrators of crime to justice, which has become difficult in the case at hand," the judgment reads. .The petitioner, represented by advocate Jatin Sehgal, had earlier told the Court that although his client had filed a police complaint to investigate the vulgar emails sent about its employee using Proton Mail, an effective probe was unlikely as Proton Mail was refusing to give details about the sender of the offensive email.Proton Mail has even removed its servers from India, Sehgal submitted. He added that bomb threats were also sent to schools in India using Proton Mail recently. "It's not only I that have suffered, it's a national threat," Sehgal said. Sehgal added that on its website, Proton Mail even guides users on how to bypass monitoring by Indian authorities. It only takes 30 seconds to create a Proton ID, without any ID verification, he argued.The prayers pressed by the petitioner also included directions to call on authorities in Switzerland to compel Proton Mail to share information required to conduct a probe into the offensive emails sent about the petitioner's employee. Today, the Court ordered that in any case, offensive URLs circulated by the sender of these emails be taken down. "Till such proceedings are taken up and concluded by the government of India (to block Proton Mail), the offending URLs indicated in the petition shall be blocked forthwith," the Court ordered. .Representing the Central government, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aravind Kamath had earlier told the Court that the Centre may have a limited role in giving effect to the petitioner's prayers concerning investigation into the emails regarding its employee with the cooperation of Swiss authorities. ASG Kamath explained that the trial court has to initiate the process of seeking assistance from Swiss authorities. "We have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Switzerland. The petitioner has lodged a complaint, criminal court is dealing with that. It is the IO which has to use the machinery and that court has to set in motion that process. I, as MHA or MEITY, I cannot deal with it," he said. On the larger issue of blocking Proton Mail, the ASG had assured the Court that he would also examine the Delhi High Court's recent observations regarding its use in India. .After reserving judgment on March 21, the Court today ordered the Central government to block Proton Mail services by its verdict today. .[Read Judgment]
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ordered the Central government authorities to take action to block the operation of Proton Mail in India. .Justice M Nagaprasanna issued the direction while dealing with a petition filed by a company named M Moser Design Associates India Private Ltd (petitioner) after vulgar emails about its employee were sent using Proton Mail to other employees and the company's clients..The petitioner had flagged risks posed by the continued operation of Proton Mail in India, given the high degree of anonymity it offers to its users. The petitioner called for appropriate directions to either regulate Proton Mail's operations in India or block it."A mandamus is issued to Respondents 2, 4, and 5 (Central government authorities) to issue proceedings in terms of Section 69A of IT Act 2008 read with rule 10 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access Of Information By Public) Rules, 2009 to block Proton Mail bearing in mind the observations made in the course of the order," the Court ordered today. .The Court reasoned that the anonymous nature of Proton Mail has eventually led it to become a menace, as it is even being used to send bomb threats. While so, the Court held that Proton's administrators have failed to comply with Indian law by remaining opaque on the handling of such misuse of its email service.“Proton AG undoubtedly falls short of the duties prescribed under Indian Law. Its inaction and opacity strike at the heart of digital accountability and embolden the malicious ... this Court fails to understand the complacency of the Union of India in not taking action towards blocking the Proton Mail, as the generation of torrent of mails from the mail box of Proton AG including hoax bomb mails threatening the security of the Nation, have not stopped," the Court said.It added that it cannot be a mute spectator. "Courts cannot remain mute spectators when faced with such menace which undermines privacy and integrity of women in particular. Protecting the society is the joint responsibility of service providers, content providers, law makers. It is the duty of the State to bring such perpetrators of crime to justice, which has become difficult in the case at hand," the judgment reads. .The petitioner, represented by advocate Jatin Sehgal, had earlier told the Court that although his client had filed a police complaint to investigate the vulgar emails sent about its employee using Proton Mail, an effective probe was unlikely as Proton Mail was refusing to give details about the sender of the offensive email.Proton Mail has even removed its servers from India, Sehgal submitted. He added that bomb threats were also sent to schools in India using Proton Mail recently. "It's not only I that have suffered, it's a national threat," Sehgal said. Sehgal added that on its website, Proton Mail even guides users on how to bypass monitoring by Indian authorities. It only takes 30 seconds to create a Proton ID, without any ID verification, he argued.The prayers pressed by the petitioner also included directions to call on authorities in Switzerland to compel Proton Mail to share information required to conduct a probe into the offensive emails sent about the petitioner's employee. Today, the Court ordered that in any case, offensive URLs circulated by the sender of these emails be taken down. "Till such proceedings are taken up and concluded by the government of India (to block Proton Mail), the offending URLs indicated in the petition shall be blocked forthwith," the Court ordered. .Representing the Central government, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aravind Kamath had earlier told the Court that the Centre may have a limited role in giving effect to the petitioner's prayers concerning investigation into the emails regarding its employee with the cooperation of Swiss authorities. ASG Kamath explained that the trial court has to initiate the process of seeking assistance from Swiss authorities. "We have a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Switzerland. The petitioner has lodged a complaint, criminal court is dealing with that. It is the IO which has to use the machinery and that court has to set in motion that process. I, as MHA or MEITY, I cannot deal with it," he said. On the larger issue of blocking Proton Mail, the ASG had assured the Court that he would also examine the Delhi High Court's recent observations regarding its use in India. .After reserving judgment on March 21, the Court today ordered the Central government to block Proton Mail services by its verdict today. .[Read Judgment]
