“Upon receiving the recovery email from Proton Mail, Spanish authorities further requested Apple to provide additional details linked to that email, leading to the identification of the individual.”
Proton handed Spanish police the recovery address on an account tied to Democratic Tsunami, a movement known for protests and roadblocks. The request came under anti-terrorism law. Apple filled in the rest. Proton complied with 5,971 data requests in 2023 and points out that the email contents stay encrypted. The contents were never needed. The recovery address was enough.