‘Government interference’ forces shutdown of email service connected to US whistleblower
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 08/09/2013 09:49 AM
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Lavabit is the email service that US whistle blower Edward Snowden reportedly used in conjunction with the NSA leaks; the service was shut down on Thursday due to ‘government interference’.
The Texas based email provider was founded in 2004 by Ladar Levison and provides encrypted email service to approximately 350,000 users sending in excess of about 200,000 emails per day. The service boasted that it could provide better privacy and security for users than Gmail.
Levison gave a rather cryptic explanation on the decision on the company’s website: "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."
According to the Guardian Levison says that government-imposed restrictions prevented him from explaining what exactly led to his company's crisis point.
Snowden was allegedly a Lavabit customer. A Lavabit email address believed to come from Snowden invited reporters to a press conference at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in mid-July.
While Levinson did not say much about the shuttering of his company – he notably did not refer to the NSA, for instance – he did say he intended to mount a legal challenge.
"We've already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals," Levinson wrote. "A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company."
He continued: "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."
The Texas based email provider was founded in 2004 by Ladar Levison and provides encrypted email service to approximately 350,000 users sending in excess of about 200,000 emails per day. The service boasted that it could provide better privacy and security for users than Gmail.
Levison gave a rather cryptic explanation on the decision on the company’s website: "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."
According to the Guardian Levison says that government-imposed restrictions prevented him from explaining what exactly led to his company's crisis point.
Snowden was allegedly a Lavabit customer. A Lavabit email address believed to come from Snowden invited reporters to a press conference at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in mid-July.
While Levinson did not say much about the shuttering of his company – he notably did not refer to the NSA, for instance – he did say he intended to mount a legal challenge.
"We've already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals," Levinson wrote. "A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company."
He continued: "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."
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