all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited is een all-in-one privacy-oplossing"],"Black Friday":["Black Friday"],"No ads. Privacy by default.":["Geen advertenties. Standaard privacy."],"People before profits":["Mensen vóór winst"],"Security through transparency":["Veiligheid door openheid"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["De beste ${ BLACK_FRIDAY }-deals voor Proton Mail"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["'s Werelds enige door de community ondersteunde e-mailservice"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ hours } hour":["${ hours } uur","${ hours } uur"],"${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } and ${ secondsLeft } left":["Nog ${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } en ${ secondsLeft } resterend"],"${ minutes } minute":["${ minutes } minuut","${ minutes } minuten"],"${ seconds } second":["${ seconds } seconde","${ seconds } seconden"],"Limited time offer":["Aanbieding beperkt geldig"]},"specialoffer:listitem":{"Create multiple addresses":["Maak meerdere e-mailadressen aan"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Hide-my-email-aliassen"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Meld u eenvoudig af voor nieuwsbrieven"],"Use your own domain name":["Gebruik uw eigen domeinnaam"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Zoals te lezen in"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Kies voor beveiligde e-mail die uw privacy beschermt"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Tot 40% korting"]},"specialoffer:newmetadescription":{"Get up to 40% off Proton Mail subscriptions this Black Friday. Find great deals on our secure end-to-end encrypted email plans.":["Profiteer tijdens Black Friday van wel 40% korting op Proton Mail-abonnementen. Bekijk geweldige aanbiedingen voor onze veilige, end-to-end versleutelde e-mailabonnementen."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Proton Mail Black Friday Sale | Tot 40% korting op veilige e-mail"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["*U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor het eerste jaar"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor de eerste 2 jaar"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["30 dagen niet-goed-geld-terug-garantie"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor de eerste 2 jaar"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor het eerste jaar"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["U bespaart ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ DISCOUNT } off":["−${ DISCOUNT }"],"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["−${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Ik ben fan van ProtonMail"],"My favorite email service":["Mijn favoriete e-mailservice"],"Thanks Proton for keeping us all safe in the complicated internet universe.":["Proton houdt ons allemaal veilig in het complexe internetuniversum."],"You get what you pay for. In the case of big tech, if you pay nothing, you get used. I quit using Gmail and switched to @ProtonMail":["Je krijgt waarvoor je betaalt. In het geval van Big Tech betekent 'gratis' dat je wordt gebruikt. Ik ben gestopt met Gmail en overgestapt op @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["Dagen"],"Hours":["Uur"],"Min":["Min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["En nog veel meer"],"Make your inbox yours":["Personaliseer uw inbox"],"Safe from trackers":["Beschermd tegen trackers"],"Stay organized":["Houd overzicht"],"Black Friday email deals":["Black Friday-deals voor e-mail"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["U hoeft ons niet te geloven"],"Our story":["Ons verhaal"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Zet uw gegevens van Google over met één klik"]},"specialoffer:tooltip":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, connect up to 10 devices, access worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé. Met ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servers in meer dan ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } landen, verbinding met maximaal 10 apparaten, wereldwijd toegang tot streamingdiensten, malware- en advertentieblokkering, en meer."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Deel uw agenda eenvoudig met uw familie, vrienden of collega's, en bekijk externe agenda's."],"Includes support for 1 custom email domain, 10 email addresses, 10 hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Ondersteuning voor 1 aangepast e-maildomein, 10 e-mailadressen, 10 hide-my-email-aliassen, gedeelde agenda's en meer."],"Includes support for 3 custom email domains, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Ondersteuning voor 3 aangepaste e-maildomeinen, 15 e-mailadressen, onbeperkt hide-my-email-aliassen, gedeelde agenda's en meer."],"Manage up to 25 calendars, mobile apps, secured with end-to-end encryption, 1-click calendar import from Google, and more.":["Beheer tot 25 agenda's, mobiele apps, beveiligd met end-to-end versleuteling, agenda's van Google importeren met 1 klik, en meer."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["Momenteel werkt de dienst van Proton VPN niet naar behoren"],"Learn more":["Meer informatie"]},"Status banner":{"Learn more":["Meer informatie"],"Please note that at the moment we are experiencing issues with the ${ issues[0] } service.":["We ondervinden op dit moment problemen met de ${ issues[0] }service."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["We ondervinden momenteel problemen met een of meer services."]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Suggesties"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subcategorie","Subcategorieën"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } min","${ readingTime } min"],"Category":["Categorie","Categorieën"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["Niet gevonden wat u zocht?"],"General contact":["Algemene contactgegevens"],"Get help":["Krijg hulp"],"Legal contact":["Contactgegevens voor juridische zaken"],"Media contact":["Contactgegevens voor media"],"Partnerships contact":["Contactgegevens voor partnerschappen"],"Reading":["Lezen"]},"Support categories":{"Browse Proton product support":["Zoeken in Proton-productondersteuning"]},"Support category":{"There is no article in this category yet.":["Er zijn nog geen artikelen in deze categorie."]},"Support troubleshooting":{"--- Select ---":["--- Selecteren ---"],"App version":["App-versie"],"Browser":["Browser"],"Check if this helps":["Kijk of dit helpt"],"Choose a category for your question":["Kies een categorie voor uw vraag"],"Choose a product":["Kies een product"],"Did this solve your issue ?":["Heeft dit uw probleem opgelost?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away — please make your selections":["Snellere ondersteuning binnen een paar klikken — maak uw keuze"],"No, contact support":["Nee, contact opnemen met ondersteuning"],"Proton account":["Proton-account"],"Proton Bridge":["Proton Bridge"],"Proton Calendar":["Proton Calendar"],"Proton Drive":["Proton Drive"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Proton Mail":["Proton Mail"],"Proton Pass":["Proton Pass"],"Proton VPN":["Proton VPN"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Bedankt voor uw feedback"],"Troubleshooting":["Probleemoplossing"],"What can we help with ?":["Waar mogen we u bij helpen?"],"Yes":["Ja"]},"support_modal_search_query":{"Search query":["Zoekopdracht"]},"support_search_button":{"Search":["Zoeken"]},"support_search_i_am_looking_for":{"I'm looking for":["Ik ben op zoek naar"]},"SupportForm":{"For a faster resolution, please report the issue from the Bridge app: Help > Report a problem.":["Om problemen sneller op te lossen, meldt u het via de Bridge-app: Help > Een probleem melden."],"Information":["Informatie"]},"SupportForm:option":{"Account Security":["Accountbeveiliging"],"Contacts":["Contactpersonen"],"Custom email domain":["Aangepast e-maildomein"],"Email delivery and Spam":["E-maillevering en spam"],"Encryption":["Versleuteling"],"Login and password":["Inlognaam en wachtwoord"],"Merge aliases and accounts":["Aliassen en accounts samenvoegen"],"Migrate to Proton":["Migreren naar Proton"],"Notifications":["Meldingen"],"Other":["Overig"],"Plans and billing":["Abonnementen en facturering"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Sign up":["Inschrijven"],"Storage":["Opslag"],"Users, addresses, and identities":["Gebruikers, adressen en identiteiten"]},"SupportForm:optionIntro":{"Select a topic":["Kies een onderwerp"]},"swiss_baseed_feature":{"Swiss based":["Gevestigd in Zwitserland"]},"Testimonial":{"Awards":["Awards"],"Customers":["Klanten"],"Featured":["Featured"],"Go to testimonial source":["Naar bron van testimonial"],"Reviews":["Reviews"],"Videos":["Video's"]},"Text":{"Find the plan that's right for you":["Vind het abonnement dat bij u past"],"If you need help, check out our ${ supportLink }.":["Bekijk onze ${ supportLink } als u hulp nodig hebt."],"The page you’re looking for might have been removed, or it could be an\nold link.":["De pagina waarnaar u op zoek bent, is mogelijk verwijderd, of u gebruikt een oude koppeling."]},"Title":{"On this page":["Op deze pagina"],"Related articles":["Gerelateerde artikelen"],"Share ${ thisPage }":["${ thisPage } delen"],"Thank you!":["Bedankt!"],"this page":["deze pagina"]},"Tooltip":{"More information":["Meer informatie"]},"tooltip_calendar":{"Create up to 20 custom & shareable encrypted calendars. On top of that, add up to 5 calendars from friends, family, colleagues, and organizations.":["Maak tot 20 aangepaste en deelbare versleutelde agenda's aan. Voeg daar bovenop tot 5 agenda's toe van vrienden, familie, collega's en organisaties."]},"tooltip_vpn":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé. Met meer dan ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servers in meer dan ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } landen, de hoogste VPN-snelheid, ${ TOTAL_VPN_CONNECTIONS } VPN-verbindingen, wereldwijde streamingdiensten, malware- en advertentieblokkering, en meer."],"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES }+ countries, highest VPN speed, 10 VPN connections, worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé. Met meer dan ${ TOTAL_SERVERS } servers in meer dan ${ TOTAL_COUNTRIES } landen, de hoogste VPN-snelheid, 10 VPN-verbindingen, wereldwijde streamingdiensten, malware- en advertentieblokkering, en meer."]},"version_history_label":{"Version history":["Versiegeschiedenis"]},"version_history_tooltip":{"Store up to ${ versionHistoryNumber } versions of each file for up to ${ years } years":["Bewaar tot ${ versionHistoryNumber } versies van elk bestand tot wel ${ years } jaar"]},"vpn_features_link":{"View VPN plans":["VPN-abonnementen bekijken"]},"vpn_features_useCase":{"Access blocked content and browse privately":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé"]}}},"unleashApi":"https://account.proton.me/api"};
// We need to import data (the framework context) from the server
// This Astro feature with define:vars works well but creates an inline script
// So we can't directly import the initFramework helper, we have to store the context
window.frameworkContext = frameworkContext;
})();
Ban TikTok – But we need a better version of the RESTRICT Act | Proton
The RESTRICT Act, which would enable the the US government to ban TikTok from the US market, is currently working its way through Congress and has the backing of the White House. We’ve analyzed the legislation over the recent weeks, and today we’re sharing our analysis.
What’s the problem with TikTok?
TikTok has repeatedly violated the public’s trust, compromised its users’ privacy(new window), and represents a potential entry point for the Chinese government to spy on users around the world. Chinese companies are compelled by China’s 2017 National Security Law(new window) to give the Chinese government whatever data it requests. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, must also have Chinese Communist Party committees within the organization. Given TikTok’s rampant data collection, which potentially includes users’ biometric information(new window) and all keystrokes in its in-app browser(new window), many policymakers fear TikTok could siphon sensitive information on US citizens to the Chinese government.
Given TikTok’s aggressive data collection and troubling lack of transparency, nations have legitimate national security and privacy grounds for banning TikTok. And while TikTok is the most famous app, numerous other Chinese apps have raised similar concerns. Security experts discovered that the popular Chinese app Pindoudou contains malware(new window) and that many of the free Chinese VPN apps(new window) collect even more data than TikTok.
Is the RESTRICT Act the right solution?
However, the RESTRICT Act(new window), in its current form, has many shortcomings that make it a suboptimal piece of legislation. In particular, the powers it grants to the US government’s executive branch are far too broad and lack sufficient checks and balances, all of which may have unintended consequences for internet freedom in the long term.
The legitimate privacy and security threats posed by TikTok, Pinduoduo, and other Chinese apps don’t justify giving the US government sweeping control over what US citizens can access on the internet.
Why the current RESTRICT Act is problematic
The RESTRICT Act would grant the US Secretary of Commerce broad powers to “identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate … any risk arising from any covered transaction by any person, or with respect to any property” that the Secretary determines to pose “an undue or unacceptable risk” to national security, including election interference, sabotage of communications technology, and critical infrastructure, and catastrophic effects to the digital economy. Furthermore, it imposes strict penalties for potentially circumventing restrictions (up to 20 years of jail time in the current text). This combination of factors poses four problems.
Overly broad executive powers
First, the Secretary of Commerce should not have authority to designate foreign adversaries. The “covered transactions” portion of the law refers to any online service subject to the laws of a foreign government that the US considers an adversary. The definition of foreign adversaries includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, but the bill gives the Secretary of Commerce authority to designate additional governments and regimes as adversaries. This broad authority should be removed as it could easily be abused.
Ambiguous penalties for VPN usage
Second, the bill should not have any ambiguity about whether criminal or civil penalties could apply to individuals who use a VPN to access banned apps. The bill’s current language is vague and could potentially be interpreted to mean that someone using a VPN to bypass restrictions to access an application classified as a national security threat could be subject to penalties. When we reached out to Senator Warner, the sponsor of this bill, he was able to provide the following reassurance on this topic:
“This bill wouldn’t enable criminal or civil penalties against anybody just for using a VPN to access a banned app. This bill is aimed squarely at corporations, not users. I’m a firm believer in — and federal courts have consistently upheld — the First Amendment’s protection for Americans to send and receive information. The RESTRICT Act doesn’t change those vital protections.”
While Senator Warner’s statement makes clear that individuals aren’t the target of this bill, such ambiguity should still be removed from the legislative text.
Lack of transparency and judicial review
Third, the bill should include transparency and accountability mechanisms to guard against government overreach. The Freedom of Information Act gives Americans the right to request federal government records to let people see how officials make decisions. However, Section 15(f)(new window) of the RESTRICT Act exempts any communications related to covered transactions from this legal right.
Unclear enforcement
Fourth, the bill is ambiguous on how a ban on TikTok would be enforced. Would it require internet service providers (ISPs) to simply block access to TikTok IP addresses? What obligations would be imposed on ISPs if TikTok were to deploy countermeasures against IP address blocks? Would ISPs be required to create a more sophisticated firewall similar to China’s Great Firewall(new window)? This would be a massive blow to the free and open internet.
How the RESTRICT Act should be amended
There is a broad bipartisan consensus in the US that malicious Chinese apps like TikTok should be banned, but we believe Congress should strive to pass good legislation. Lawmakers should make two sets of changes to the core of the RESTRICT Act to help it strike the right balance between protecting against malicious Chinese applications while still defending online freedom.
Restrict the scope of RESTRICT
Instead of permitting the Secretary of Commerce the authority to designate additional adversaries, the scope should be limited to the list currently envisioned by Congress, namely China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. Any future expansion of this list should require the approval of Congress via the passage of amended legislation.
Prescribe effective but targeted measures
To avoid enforcement overreach and subsequent unintended consequences, the RESTRICT should specifically define what enforcement actions would be required. We believe there are specific actions that the RESTRICT Act can mandate that will diminish the risks posed by Chinese apps without compromising the future of the free and open internet. Even without resorting to overly broad censorship powers, making it difficult and costly for malicious apps to reach the US market is already possible. Examples of restrictions the US government could impose upon banned apps include:
Prohibiting app stores that serve US customers from featuring them
Prevent US advertisers from doing business with them
Prevent US payment processors from handling payments with them
Prevent US-based cloud providers from hosting them
Prevent US social media sites from linking to them
Ban US financial institutions from servicing them
These actions would mean that TikTok would likely still be available within the US for anyone determined to find it. However, ByteDance (TikTok’s owner) would not be able to make any revenue from the US market and, thus, would not have an incentive to serve the US market. The prohibition from app stores that serve US customers would also make it difficult (if not impossible) for all but the most dedicated US consumers to get the app (and those customers would be able to get the app anyways, under the current language of the RESTRICT Act).
This would achieve the legislative intent with far less risk of unintended consequences to internet freedom.
Final thoughts
Given TikTok’s repeated privacy abuses, Pinduoduo’s malicious capabilities, and their close ties to the Chinese government, we understand the need for a faster response. We simply believe that any response must be measured, proportional, applicable to future threats, and acknowledge the unique threats posed by apps and services from China. The RESTRICT Act, as it’s currently written, fails this test.
If you’re a US voter, we invite you to make your voice heard. Contact your senator and urge them to find a responsible way to mitigate TikTok’s influence and amend the RESTRICT Act.
Proton’s mission is to build a better internet where privacy is the default. Keep control of your data and stay safe online with Proton Mail, Proton VPN, and Proton Drive.
Secure, seamless communication is the foundation of every business. As more
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On the subject of cybersecurity, one term that often comes up is brute force
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In this a
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has become notorious as
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In response to the growing number of data breaches, Proton Mail offers a feature
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Your email address is your online identity, and you share it whenever you create
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Data breaches
Our mission at Proton is to help usher in an internet that protects your privacy
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Today we’re taking another step in this direction with the launch of our open
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