Lavabit should be hailed as a national hero. The company, which specialised in encrypted email, decided to shut down operations. In an effort to stand up to Obama’s NSA demands, the tech company refused to hand over private e-mails of U.S. citizens. The unconstitutional requests come after Edward Snowden’s security leaks revealed the government’s domestic spying programs. Lavabit opted to shut down their business verse help the government spy on innocent civilians.
Lavabit users were greeted with this message, which was posted on the Lavabit website:
My Fellow Users,
I have been 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. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations. I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. 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. As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.
What’s going to happen now? We’ve already started preparing the paperwork needed to continue to fight for the Constitution in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me resurrect Lavabit as an American company.
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.
Sincerely,
Ladar Levison
Owner and Operator, Lavabit LLC
Defending the constitution is expensive! Help us by donating to the Lavabit Legal Defense Fund here.
© 2025 Classicalite All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
