A premature fall

Four years ago my then email provider decided it no longer wanted individual accounts and I had to sort out a new email address. I didn’t trust yahoo or hotmail and google’s ‘don’t be evil’ slogan was looking flaky even then so I hunted around and chose a small provider with a commitment to user privacy called Lavabit.

For the last couple of days I’ve put my static inbox down to the fact that I’m too busy to send emails so why should anyone bother contacting me, but today I discovered that, even though I’ve never come across a fellow-Lavabit user, Edward Snowden was one. As a result the US government has, it seems, been pressurising Lavabit's developer to release user data.

My silent inbox was because all Lavabit services disappeared suddenly on Thursday with no warning. This is part of a message on the only page of Lavabit’s website that is still accessible:

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… 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.
Ladar Levison
Owner and Operator

Respect to a business owner who actually practises what he preaches.