Indian Court Orders Action to Block Proton Mail Over AI Deepfake Abuse Allegations

A high court in the Indian state of Karnataka has ordered the blocking of end-to-end encrypted email provider Proton Mail across the country.

The High Court of Karnataka, on April 29, said the ruling was in response to a legal complaint filed by M Moser Design Associated India Pvt Ltd in January 2025.

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The complaint alleged its staff had received e-mails containing obscene, abusive, and vulgar language, artificial intelligence (AI) generated deepfake imagery, and other sexually explicit content, according to LiveLaw.

In a hearing, Justice M Nagaprasanna ordered the Indian government to “initiate proceedings in terms of section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act 2008 read with Rule 10 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards of blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009 to block Proton Mail.”

“Till such proceedings are taken up and concluded by the government of India, the offending uniform resource locators (URLs) […] shall be blocked forth with.”

As of writing, Proton Mail remains accessible in India. The Hacker News has reached out to the Swiss company for comment, and we will update the story if we hear back.

This is the second time the service has been threatened with a ban in the country. Early last year, after reports emerged that hoax bomb threats were sent through Proton Mail, the company said it’s “resolutely against the use of Proton services for purposes that are contrary to Swiss law.”

While Proton is not allowed to transmit any data to foreign authorities under Swiss law, it’s obligated to respond to orders from Swiss authorities, who may work with outside agencies to tackle illegal activity.

“While end-to-end encryption means users’ emails, files, calendar entries, and passwords have strong privacy protections, it is not permissible to use Proton Mail for purposes that are contrary to Swiss law,” it added.

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