- Proton said the company has begun to move some of its physical infrastructure out of Switzerland for fear of the new proposed surveillance law
- Lumo, the company’s newly launched privacy for Ai-Chatbot is the first product to move
- A change of current monitoring law requires VPNs and Messaging -Apps to identify and retain user data
Proton has confirmed that the company has begun to move out of Switzerland due to “legal uncertainty” over the newly proposed surveillance law.
Proton’s newly launched privacy-first Ai Chatbot, Lumo, has become the first product to change home yet, “Investment in Europe is not equivalent to leaving Switzerland,” a spokesman for the company Techradar said in the middle of rumors that it leaves the country for good.
The company behind one of the best VPN and encrypted E email services has been very critical of the Swiss government’s proposed amendment to its surveillance law since the beginning, which already shared plans to end Switzerland back in May.
If it adopts, the regulation on monitoring of correspondence with postal and telecommunications (OSCPT) will introduce new obligations for virtual private networks (VPNs), Messaging apps and social networks. These measures include mandatory user identification and data storage of up to six months for all services with at least 5,000 users. Providers will also be obliged to decrypt communication at the request of the authorities if they own encryption keys.
Lumo – the first to go
Proton launched his Chatgpt competitor, Lumo, in July 2025, to give its users an alternative to Big Tech Solutions that really protects their privacy.
In a blog post about the launch, Proton’s leader of anti-abuse and account security, Eamonn Maguire explains that the company has decided to invest outside Switzerland for fear of the threatening legal changes.
He wrote: “Due to legal uncertainty about the Swiss government’s proposal to introduce mass surveillance – proposals that have been banned in the EU – proton moves most of his physical infrastructure out of Switzerland. Lumo will be the first product to move.”
When he spoke with a Swiss publication after launch, Proton’s CEO Andy Yen confirmed that the proposed changes in the Swiss surveillance law prompted the company to choose Germany instead of hosting Lumo’s servers. Proton has also confirmed that it also develops facilities in Norway.
While the company did not specify that Germany would become the new home for most of its infrastructure, Proton confirmed to Techradar that investment in Europe is not equivalent to leaving Switzerland.
However, it is worth noting that being based in the EU could make proton and similar companies, vulnerable to wider data storage or scanning obligations, whose proposals such as the so -called Protecteu or Chat Control should pass.
We approached Proton for clarification on this point, and a company’s spokesman pointed out that mandatory data storage has already been illegally ruled several times by European courts.
“Of course, we will continue to monitor developments in the EU carefully, as we do elsewhere,” proton added.
What is the next thing for the Swiss tech -private life industry?
Proton is not the only provider that has been vocal against what critics have considered Switzerland’s “War Against Online Anonymity.”
Another VPN provider, NymVPN, confirmed in May its intentions to leave Switzerland if the new surveillance rules are enforced.
When we talk to Techradar, Nyms co-founder and COO, Alexis Roussel, shares support for Proton’s decision to find a new home for his private AI-Chatbot.
He said, “Proton is in a position they expand, so it makes sense. You can’t invest in privacy in Switzerland right now.”
Roussel also confirmed to Techradar that the company has already developed a strategy for moving its VPN activities outside Switzerland and the EU. Still, this is still the last resort.
He also explains that the fact that NYM is working on a decentralized infrastructure means that it will not be affected by the encryption provision as the company has no encryption keys.
“Depending on how they change things within the law, this will affect our decision to move. But we would like to resist the regulation until the end and go to the court,” Roussel said.
As reported by cyberin pages, safe and private messaging app also said that “while keeping an eye on the situation,” its decentralized structure means that its services are less vulnerable to the changes.
