On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court directed the central government to block access to Proton Mail, citing misuse of the encrypted platform for transmitting obscene and defamatory content. The decision was delivered by Justice M Nagaprasanna following a petition filed by Bengaluru-based firm M Moser Design, which reported receiving AI-generated deepfakes, morphed images, and sexually explicit emails via Proton Mail.
The court invoked Section 69A of the IT Act, 2008, in conjunction with Rule 10 of the 2009 Blocking Rules, instructing the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to issue blocking orders. A detailed verdict is pending.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Aravind Kamath said authorities could invoke the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and issue a letter rogatory under India’s mutual legal assistance treaty with Switzerland, where Proton is headquartered. However, he added that the government would honor any specific court order for blocking access.
Previously, MeitY considered banning Proton Mail following bomb threat hoaxes in Chennai, but the move was halted after Swiss intervention. Proton Mail has consistently opposed such blocks, calling them ineffective against global cybercrime.
Justice Nagaprasanna, after reviewing the offensive content, questioned why encrypted services and VPNs operating without Indian servers weren’t regulated or blocked. The court noted Proton’s refusal to cooperate with local authorities, including denying user traceability when approached by Bengaluru police.
Petitioner’s counsel, Jatin Sehgal, claimed Proton encouraged evasion of Indian surveillance norms and had withdrawn VPN servers from India after new data-retention mandates were enforced in 2022.
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