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11 Aug, 2013

Lavabit Owner’s Farewell Warning: Don’t Trust Your Data to U.S. Companies – Truthdig

The owner and CEO of the secure email service reportedly used by Edward Snowden decided to shut down Thursday rather than help the U.S. spy on his customers.

According to The Guardian: “Lavabit, an email service that boasted of its security features and claimed 350,000 customers, is no more, apparently after rejecting a court order for cooperation with the US government to participate in surveillance on its customers. It is the first such company known to have shuttered rather than comply with government surveillance.”

Lavabit’s home page has been taken over by a note from founder and owner Ladar Levison. He says he was “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.”

Read the rest: Lavabit Owner’s Farewell Warning: Don’t Trust Your Data to American Companies – Truthdig.