Tech legal news site Groklaw shutting down, citing email privacy concerns

Technology legal news website Groklaw is shutting down due to concerns over the continued availability of secure email in the wake of revelations about U.S. government surveillance. 

“The owner of Lavabit tells us that he’s stopped using email and if we knew what he knew, we’d stop too,” site founder Pamela Jones said in a farewell post Tuesday. “There is no way to do Groklaw without email. Therein lies the conundrum.”

Groklaw, which was launched 10 years ago, has been known for its exhaustive coverage of technology law, particularly involving software patents, open source software and privacy issues.

Secure email provider Lavabit recently announced it would shut down due to an ongoing legal dispute, presumably with the U.S. government. “I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit,” company owner Ladar Levison wrote on its website.

Lavabit was reportedly used by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked documents related to NSA spying programs and is now in Russia after being given asylum. Following Lavabit’s closure, Silent Circle also shut down its secure email service, while calling the move a pre-emptive one rather than something precipitated by a government subpoena or warrant.

On one level it’s little surprise Jones felt compelled to shut down Groklaw, given how fiercely she has protected her own privacy over the past 10 years.

“There is now no shield from forced exposure,” Jones wrote. “Now that I know that ensuring privacy online is impossible. I find myself unable to write.”

Jones didn’t respond to a request for additional comment Tuesday.