In a major win for digital privacy advocates worldwide, a Greek court has fully dismissed criminal charges against Yegor Sak, founder of the VPN company Windscribe. The decision reinforces the legitimacy of strict no-logs policies, offering crucial protection to privacy infrastructure providers across the globe.
The case stemmed from a 2022 incident involving a Windscribe server in Finland. Authorities in Greece, with assistance from INTERPOL, traced a cyberattack to an IP address linked to Windscribe. In a surprising move, instead of following typical international legal protocols, Greek officials bypassed corporate inquiry and filed criminal charges directly against Sak himself.
“This case was never just about me,” Sak said after the ruling. “It was about defending the principle that privacy providers cannot be held liable for data they intentionally do not collect.”
A Critical Win for Privacy Infrastructure Worldwide
The court formally acquitted Sak on April 11, 2025, finding no evidence to suggest wrongdoing by either him or Windscribe. This outcome is being celebrated as a landmark decision, particularly in a time when governments worldwide are intensifying pressure on privacy-focused tech companies.
Typically, when law enforcement suspects illegal activity involving a VPN, they issue subpoenas for user information. VPNs like Windscribe, known for their strict no-logs stance, usually respond that they have no data to provide — and that response is normally respected. However, this case marked a stark deviation from that norm.
After Greek authorities subpoenaed the data center in Finland and obtained Sak’s name, they launched immediate criminal proceedings without even contacting Windscribe for further information. The company only became aware of the situation after receiving a formal summons.
“This could have set a dangerous precedent,” Sak warned. “If it had gone the other way, it would have criminalized owning servers simply because someone else misused them.”
Why Windscribe Refuses to Keep Logs
Windscribe was built on a simple belief: the internet should be open, private, and free from censorship, surveillance, and manipulation. Staying true to that vision, the company does not log user activity, does not pay for advertising, and rejects promoted content — all to maintain complete user trust.
Sak remains adamant about this approach. “Some argue that VPNs should be banned because a few bad actors misuse them,” he said. “But by that logic, we should also ban hammers and cars.”
He pointed out a broader danger: maintaining user logs would mean that privacy providers could be forced to hand over data even in authoritarian countries, where simply criticizing a government could be illegal.
“Today it’s hacking,” Sak said. “Tomorrow it could be speaking ill of a dictator’s beard. That’s why we’d rather stand our ground in court than betray the trust of our users.”
Windscribe’s legal victory sets a powerful precedent, reaffirming that respecting user privacy is not just an ethical choice — it can also be a valid legal defense.
