___________Occupy America |
Posted: 09 Aug 2013 05:30 AM PDT
The founder of Lavabit, the email service used by whistleblower Edward Snowden, announced the company would be shutting down Thursday in a message posted on the group’s homepage.“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,” writes Ladar Levison. The message, which includes a section explaining how the government stopped Levison from sharing his story, ends in a warning. “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 U.S.”
The full message from Lavabit's founder and operator Ladar Levison:
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
READ MORE:
http://crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/email-service-lavabit-shuts-down-sites