Proton Mail hit with blocking order in India - here's everything we know so far

• A Court in India has issued a blocking order against the Proton Mail service
• A New Delhi firm filed the complaint in November 2024, accusing some unknown Proton Mail users of sending abusive emails to its employees
• The blocking order was issued under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act 2008 according to the judge

Proton Mail could soon stop working in India following a Court's decision to issue a blocking order against the service.

The Karnataka High Court instructed the Indian Government to block Proton Mail on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. A New Delhi firm filed a complaint against the email service last November, accusing some unknown Proton Mail users of sending abusive emails to its employees.

The order "to block ProtonMail" was issued under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act 2008, the Judge said during the Tuesday hearing streamed on YouTube, adding that the offending URL "should be blocked forthwith."

The decision came as the email service couldn't reveal the details of who sent the allegedly offensive emails. These messages specifically targeted M Moser Design Associates’ female employees and included abusive and derogatory language alongside AI-generated deep-fake images, and explicit content – The New Indian Express reported.

This isn't the first time that Indian authorities have threatened the Swiss provider with a blocking order. In February 2024, something similar was suggested in response to hoax bomb threats that were sent through the Proton Mail service.

"The issue has been raised to the attention of the Swiss federal authorities, who have been in contact with the relevant Indian authorities to prevent the blocking of Proton Mail in India," confirmed Proton at the time.

Is Proton Mail available in India?

At the time of writing, it is yet unclear when the blocking order will be enforced and if Proton Mail will stop working across the country.

Proton Mail's website was still working in India on Tuesday after the Court issued its decision, though, according to TechCrunch checks. TechRadar also successfully accessed Proton Mail via several Indian IP addresses on April 30.

We nevertheless recommend getting ready for a potential block by downloading one of the best VPN services. This tool will help you to keep accessing your Proton Mail account in case of disruptions to the service.

TechRadar approached Proton for comments, but is still waiting for a response at the time of publication.

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