The problem with the US specifically is that the intentions of the current team and founders doesn’t decide in the end. It’s entirely plausible for them to be compromised and gagged, against their will.
It’s also not necessarily something that more than a very small number of people in the company needs to be aware of.
This is due to how legislation and the operations of federal agencies work.
Over the past decade, I feel USA has become pretty damn close China in this regard if you put all countries on some kind of scale.
Anywhere in the EU would have had way less of that risk.
I could also add that I had similar feelings with Keybase for a long time; promising team, solution and openness (though not to the extent of Purism). My main gripe was the US location. And then they were acquired by Zoom. This kind of nihilistic dynamic is also more common with US businesses, even if it’s just a cultural thing.
