Proton CEO Andy Yen has cancelled a plan to re-interview nearly all staff members regarding their use of artificial intelligence.
The decision follows intense opposition from both Proton users and employees. Internal sources, including six current workers and audio from a two-hour meeting obtained by 404 Media, indicate the original scheme would have required staff to justify their AI usage. Failure to meet the company’s expectations could have resulted in termination.
Security concerns clash with speed
404 Media published an investigation on Thursday detailing how Yen pushed for AI adoption despite internal security warnings. In a message within the company’s security Slack channel at the end of August, an employee suggested a brief period for pentesting newly written code before deployment.
“That’s bullshit and loser thinking,” Yen replied. “Of course it’s possible to be fast and secure.” He added: “Stop thinking always of how to be slower, and focus more on how to be faster.” The CEO further instructed staff to stop “lovingly handcrafting all our code and use AI more.”
User backlash continues
Canceling the re-interviews does not resolve the wider dissatisfaction among Proton’s user base. Many customers are concerned about the company’s deprioritization of security features. Social media posts over the last 24 hours have seen users criticise leadership and explicitly call for Yen’s resignation.
Other tech news
Archive of Our Own (AO3) remains offline following a security incident last week. The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) stated that site restoration would take around two weeks, though the outage could last up to a month. The platform hosts a large repository of fanfiction and creative writing.
Users are seeking alternatives to Wattpad to fill the gap. One writer told 404 Media she was rushing to finish a story timed for Kinktober and Halloween when the outage occurred. She described receiving the maintenance message while reading a chapter as “a sign from the universe to go to bed.”
What it means
For Proton staff, the immediate threat of being questioned on AI usage has been removed. However, the directive to prioritise speed over careful code review remains in effect. This creates a tension between leadership’s push for rapid AI integration and the security team’s insistence on rigorous testing protocols.
