WON’T BE ‘COMPLICIT’

Snowden’s Email Provider Lavabit Shutters Doors Citing Government Interference

By Elizabeth Coady

EDWARD SNOWDEN’S REPORTED EMAIL PROVIDER LAVABIT abruptly shut down today citing interference from the U.S. government.

In a letter posted to its homepage, the company’s owner Ladar Levinson wrote that 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.”

“I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision,” Levinson continued. “I cannot. I feel you deserve to know what’s going on -the first amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise.”

Published in its entirety above, Levinson writes in the letter that he is “preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. …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 Guardian, which has published revelations about government spying with data provided by former former NSA analyst Snowden, asserted that Lavabit had shut down rather than comply with demands to allow the government to spy on its users.

Kurt Opsahl, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told The Guardian that Levinson’s allusion to an appeal ” indicated the government had a court order for Lavabit’s data.”

“It’s taking a very bold stand, one that I’m sure will have financial ramifications,” he said.