> The second thing I would do is have useful idiots (i.e., influencers) spread vague anecdotes
An unfortunate factor at play in these matters (and that I note in the article) is that the intelligence services are known to run the occasional shell company [0]. It seems likely that some privacy-oriented providers are actually intelligence fronts - because if you were running an intelligence collection agency an obvious thing to try would be a privacy-focused email company or something.
If it isn't built on a trustless model it isn't trustworthy.
An unfortunate factor at play in these matters (and that I note in the article) is that the intelligence services are known to run the occasional shell company [0]. It seems likely that some privacy-oriented providers are actually intelligence fronts - because if you were running an intelligence collection agency an obvious thing to try would be a privacy-focused email company or something.
If it isn't built on a trustless model it isn't trustworthy.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto_AG