Thought Leadership
Following a 404 Media report about pressure to use AI and concerns over security, Proton users are canceling their subscriptions. CEO Andy Yen has called off the employee re-interviews.
Andy Yen, CEO of Swiss privacy-focused service provider Proton, has canceled a series of company-wide re-interviews that would have required employees to explain how they use AI in their work. According to six employees, there were concerns that staff who did not use AI enough could lose their jobs. The cancellation came one day after US publication 404 Media reported on Proton’s approach to AI adoption. Proton operates services including Proton Mail, Proton VPN, and Proton Drive.
“We have decided to actually cancel the re-interviews,” Yen said, according to a recording of an approximately two-hour all-hands meeting obtained by 404 Media. The decision followed discussions with senior leadership and the board of directors. AI usage criteria will instead become part of regular performance reviews. Yen said the company would not cut jobs because of AI.
Security Concerns Dismissed
404 Media based its original report on interviews with eight current and one former Proton employee. According to the report, Yen urged developers to stop painstakingly writing every line of code by hand and make greater use of AI instead.
In late August, an employee reportedly suggested in Proton’s security Slack channel that newly written code should undergo penetration testing before release. Yen allegedly dismissed the proposal as “bullshit and loser thinking.” According to the sources, a culture had developed in which employees were reluctant to raise security concerns. Proton did not respond to a request for comment from 404 Media.
Users Cancel Subscriptions
The report prompted criticism among Proton users. On Reddit, numerous users announced plans to cancel their paid Proton subscriptions. Some called for Yen to step down to protect the company’s reputation as a privacy-focused provider. One of Yen’s Reddit responses received more than 1,200 downvotes. The actual number of users who have canceled their subscriptions remains unknown.
Since June 2024, the nonprofit Proton Foundation has held a majority stake in the company. Proton also offers its own AI assistant, Lumo. According to Proton, chat histories are stored in encrypted form and are not used to train AI models.
(Editorial Team)
