Ladar Levison is the Founder of Lavabit, LLC. Founded in 2004 (and originally named Nerdshack), Lavabit served as a place for free private and secure email accounts. By August of 2013, Lavabit had grown to over 410,000 users, with more than 10,000 paid subscribers. Levison created Lavabit because he believes that privacy is a fundamental, necessary right for a functioning, fair and free democracy. On August 8, 2013, he made the bold decision to shut down his business after ?refusing to become complicit in crimes against the American people.? Presently, Levison is serving as the project manager and lead architect for the Dark Mail Initiative, while continuing to vigorously advocate for the privacy and free speech rights of all Americans.