Toronto, Canada, April 28th, 2025/CyberNewsWire/--Windscribe, a globally used privacy-first VPN service, announced today that its founder, Yegor Sak, has been fully acquitted by a court in Athens, Greece, following a two-year legal battle in which Sak was personally charged in connection with an alleged internet offence by an unknown user of the service. The case centred around a Windscribe-owned server in Finland that was allegedly used to breach a system in Greece. Greek authorities, in cooperation with INTERPOL, traced the IP address to Windscribe’s infrastructure and, unlike standard international procedures, proceeded to initiate criminal proceedings against Sak himself, rather than pursuing information through standard corporate channels. "This was not just about me," said Sak. "It was about drawing a hard legal line around the role of privacy infrastructure providers. As we do not log user activity, we cannot hand over what we do not have.” "This was not just about me," said Sak. "It was about drawing a hard legal line around the role of privacy infrastructure providers. As we do not log user activity, we cannot hand over what we do not have.” The charges against Sak were formally dismissed on April 11, 2025. The court did not find sufficient evidence to implicate Sak or Windscribe in any wrongdoing. A Case with Global Ramifications The legal proceedings unfolded against the backdrop of increasing pressure on privacy tech companies worldwide. While most law enforcement agencies issue subpoenas to VPN providers when criminal activity is suspected, Windscribe routinely responds that it is unable to comply due to its strict no-logs policy — a response that is almost always accepted without escalation. This case, however, deviated sharply from that norm. After subpoenaing the data center provider in Finland, which yielded the account holder's name — Sak — Greek authorities immediately started criminal proceedings. No information was requested from Windscribe, and the first time the company heard of the issue was after the receipt of the legal summons. "This sets a concerning precedent for anyone who owns servers that could be used by others," said Sak. "If upheld, it could have criminalized infrastructure ownership for actions taken by anonymous users.” "This sets a concerning precedent for anyone who owns servers that could be used by others," said Sak. "If upheld, it could have criminalized infrastructure ownership for actions taken by anonymous users.” Why Windscribe Won’t Keep Logs Windscribe believes that the internet should be free of censorship, personal data harvesting, targeted advertising, and geographic restrictions. Adherence to this philosophy is taken very seriously — the company does not pay for any advertisements or promoted content; it’s a key tenet of its ethics and philosophy. ethics and philosophy. ethics and philosophy. Sak emphasized that Windscribe remains committed to user privacy and operational transparency. “Some say VPNs should be banned because a few people misuse them,” said Sak. “By that logic, we should also ban hammers and cars.” “Some say VPNs should be banned because a few people misuse them,” said Sak. “By that logic, we should also ban hammers and cars.” The case underscored a central challenge for privacy providers: assisting with legal investigations requires collecting user logs — a step that fundamentally compromises the trust and utility of a privacy service. Once stored, these logs can be compelled by courts in jurisdictions where speech itself is criminalized. “Today it’s hacking. Tomorrow it could be speaking ill of a dictator’s beard,” said Sak. “We’d rather fight in court than betray our users.” “Today it’s hacking. Tomorrow it could be speaking ill of a dictator’s beard,” said Sak. “We’d rather fight in court than betray our users.” About Windscribe Founded in 2016, Windscribe is a VPN and privacy tools provider trusted by tens of millions of users worldwide to safeguard online privacy and bypass censorship. Windscribe Windscribe With a strict no-logs policy, open-source apps, and a record of fighting for user rights in court, Windscribe remains one of the most transparent and principled providers in the privacy tech space. To learn more, users can visit https://windscribe.com https://windscribe.com https://windscribe.com Media Contact: hello@windscribe.com Contact Yegor Sak hello@windscribe.com This story was distributed as a release by Cybernewswire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here This story was distributed as a release by Cybernewswire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here here here
