Privacy-focused e-mail service that former-NSA contractor Edward Snowden reportedly used was shut down today after the founder left a note saying he’s gagged from talking about why it’s now offline.
The founder of Lavabit, Ladar Levison expressed anguish after having to decide between becoming “complicit in crimes against the American people” or shut down his business nearly 10 years in the making.
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Lavabit was founded in 2004 and was dedicated to protecting the privacy of those who used it. The website explained that its initial concerns came from the way Gmail uses people’s data to serve them relevant advertising.
Among other efforts to keep user data secure, Lavabit encrypted e-mail before saving them to its servers, which would be attractive to those wishing to send relatively secret communications.
Below is the note left on the website.
My Fellow Users,
I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations. I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot. I feel you deserve to know what’s going on–the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.
What’s going to happen now? We’ve already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company.
This experience has taught me one very important lesson: without congressional action or a strong judicial precedent, I would _strongly_ recommend against anyone trusting their private data to a company with physical ties to the United States.
Sincerely,
Ladar Levison
Owner and Operator, Lavabit LLCDefending the constitution is expensive! Help us by donating to the Lavabit Legal Defense Fund here.
Credit: Venture Beat
