When Russia blocked access to independent news sites following its invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Proton saw "a 9,000% increase in signups in just a few days" , says Andy Yen in an interview with AFP.

The spikes in registrations 'nearly match' places 'where democracy and freedom are under attack', such as in Iran last October, when authorities tightened internet access amid protests following the death in detention of Mahsa Amini.

"If there is a coup in Africa, we see it in our data before it hits the headlines," said the 34-year-old physicist, who worked at the prestigious European physics lab CERN. , before founding Proton in 2014.

Known for its encrypted email service, Proton also provides a VPN (virtual private network) service to its more than 70 million users worldwide.

VPNs allow access to the Internet via an "encrypted tunnel", which makes the connection anonymous and hides the location of the Internet user by changing his IP address.

They can be used to thwart the blocking of certain sites, in particular in countries where censorship reigns.

“We all see in Ukraine how important it is to have digital technologies that protect privacy and give people freedom of information so they can consult genuine sources of information,” he stresses. .

Andy Yen, CEO of Proton, during an interview, February 21, 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

And this "even if there is a financial loss" for the company because "if we abandon these markets, the consequences are in fact quite serious", warns the leader from Taiwan, marked in his youth by the threat of Beijing. that has weighed on the island since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The cat and the Mouse"

To develop, the company has adopted an economic model that is fundamentally different from "Big Tech" like Google and Facebook, which offer its "free" services (mails, calendars, social networks, etc.) in exchange for the sale of data from users to advertisers.

While its email and VPN services are end-to-end encrypted for free, Proton makes money by selling monthly subscriptions under $10 for additional features.

Andy Yen, CEO of Proton, on February 21, 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

The VPN market has grown strongly in recent years, rising from $25 billion in 2019 to $45 billion in 2022, according to Global Market Insight.

And it should accelerate further, with 350 billion expected in 2032.

Marked by the revelations of Edward Snowden on the massive digital espionage practiced by American security agencies, Andy Yen claims to be even more concerned about "corporate surveillance, much more massive" than that of governments.

“What the NSA can have on you is probably a drop in the ocean compared to what Google and Facebook have” on their users, he asserts.

With such positioning, Proton, which has around 400 employees, is now in the crosshairs of several governments.

“We have had situations, both in Russia and in Iran, where all state resources have been thrown (against) us,” says Andy Yen, adding that the company has a team of engineers permanently on call to ensure that its services "remain available and accessible".

"It's a game of cat and mouse," he explains.

"I like to think we're a pretty quick mouse, but (there's) also a pretty good cat sometimes."

© 2023 AFP