The email service used by Edward Snowdenhas stopped working today. If you open the Lavabit LLC in your browser, you will see that there is only one message from its owner and administrator, Mr. Ladar Levison.
His message states that the company was forced to close after the unbearable pressures it received from the American Government. At the end of the message there is a warning for all of us who use services from companies that have ties to the American government. The news makes it clear to us how the American government operates and not only. While the laws claim freedom of speech and the right to work, the state often has the opposite opinion. You might think that we are talking about danger…
Read Ladar Levison 's announcement
I was forced to make a very difficult decision: become complicit in crimes against the American people or, after nearly ten years of hard work, shut down Lavabit. After some introspection, I have decided to suspend the operation of the website. I wish I could share with you the events that led me to this decision. I cannot. I feel that you deserve to know what is happening – the First Amendment is supposed to give me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise. As things stand today, I cannot share with you my experiences over the past six weeks, although I have made the appropriate requests twice.
What happens now? We have already begun preparing the paperwork required to continue our fight for our Constitutional rights in the Court of Appeals. A favorable decision would allow me to resurrect Lavabit as an American company.
This experience taught me a very important lesson: I would like to recommend that you do not trust your personal data to any company that has ties to the United States.
Sincerely,
Ladar Levison
Owner and Administrator, Lavabit LLC
