I think people love to hate proton but also they are very much deserving of scrutiny. Given they have voiced some sentiments in the past that many read as “pro-maga” they should be be scrutinized
And also, my impression has generally been that when scrutinized (which happens VERY regularly) they dont really seem to be doing anything nefarious. But we keep having things crop up that create scrutiny, which I feel is equal parts concerning, and also likely somewhat a product of hypervigilance
Here’s someone contemporaneously scrutinizing those "pro-maga" comments made around the beginning of trumps second term, and with some grace shown to proton (you can decide if they deserve it), concludes the comments are understandable, even if its clear how divorced from reality they are in retrospect (that many could also see as such at the time they were made). But the author makes the fair argument that the CEO of proton reasonably may not have had that perspective at the time and may have been caught off guard by a anti-big-tech pick for trumps cabinet. I don’t think the interpretation they explain is wrong.
But we keep having concerns with them. Sometimes hollow (they turned over a Stop Cop City organizer’s payment data when legally required by the country theyre incorporated in, which is what what literally any company would do), sometimes a bit less so, like making pro trump comments that may be true but that feel shortsighted, and failing to scrutinize who they partner with as an influencer
Tiresia@slrpnk.net 3 weeks ago
If they don’t get enough money from an advertising deal to be able to afford a short background check, they shouldn’t do the advertising deal.
It’s up to Proton to make a public apology and change their policies so they don’t give money to fascists. Until then, they are a company that gives money to fascists.
DScratch@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
But they don’t make money from advertising…
They spend money.
coffee_tacos@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
Ideally you spend less on the advertising campaign than you make in new customers.
DScratch@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
Sometimes that’s the case, but Proton have free tiers, so new customers can just cost more money on top of the cost to acquire them.
ClockworkOtter@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
They spend the money they made. Your point is unclear.
DScratch@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
100% seriously I don’t understand what this means.
Proton spend the money they made?
Cris_Citrus@piefed.zip 3 weeks ago
I think it may be worth asking yourself why a company would spend that money: They do so in the hopes that it makes them more. The only reason they exist is to make money.
Whether you think this was an honest mistake or sign of something nefarious, the idea that a company spends money on advertising just to throw money into the void and see no return is a bit silly 😅. The hope is that some subset of folks advertised to join their service, and some subset of those pay money for it. If they don’t make more money from gained paying customers than the ammount they spent on advertising then it was an objectively incorrect business choice…