AT&T mobile users blocked from accessing Tutanota encrypted email

Some US users have been locked out for two weeks.

Encrypted email provider Tutanota says its services are being blocked by one of the USA's largest mobile carriers, AT&T.

Tutanota, which is headquartered in Germany, says that since January 25^th some users in the eastern half of the US have been unable to access their mailboxes over AT&T's mobile network. The company says AT&T has promised to look into it but so far the problem has not been fixed. It contrasts this service with Comcast which inadvertently blocked Tutanota's services in 2018 but corrected the error within a day.

The company is not accusing AT&T of deliberately blocking its service, unlike the situation in Egypt where the encrypted email service is actively obstructed. However, CEO Matthias Pfau says the situation illustrates the danger of a few large carriers dominating the airwaves.

"This shows why net neutrality is so important for internet users and online services alike," Pfau said.

"No ISP should have the right to block or throttle access to any website. We hope that AT&T will lift this regional block soon."

Tutanota is not the only encrypted email service to have customers cut off from its services in certain parts of the world. Last month, Computing reported that ProtonMail and StartMail had both been banned in Russia, with the Russian government claiming their services had been used to send bomb threats.

This fate has yet to befall Tutanota, but it may just be a matter of time.

"We are very critical of the attempts of authoritarian systems - but also of some Western politicians - to prevent encryption," Pfau told Computing. "The Russian and Egyptian examples make it clear why it is important for citizens to be able to use their right to privacy on the Internet."

Fortunately, users in those countries can still access encrypted email service using a VPN or via the Tor network.