- Switzerland is considering changing its surveillance law to add new types of monitoring and information collection
- The change would extend the range to VPNs and secure message providers
- Consultations are now open until 6 May 2025
Switzerland is considering changing its surveillance law to expand to new types of monitoring and data collection.
The changes – as experts claim, will put people’s anonymity and secure encryption at risk – would expand the web according to affected service providers to virtual private networks (VPNs), Messaging apps and social networks that have previously only affected mobile networks and ISPs (ISPS).
Consultations are now public and open until May 6, 2025. Talking to Techradar has NyMVPN explained how it plans to fight against it, along with encrypted messaging -app Threema and Proton, the provider behind one of the best VPN and secure E email services on the market.
More data, less security
Authorities’ arguments behind the need to access more data are always the same – to catch criminals and improve security. According to NYM’s co -founder and COO, Alexis Roussel, being forced to leave more data behind the opposite result.
“Less anonymity online won’t make things better,” he told Techradar. “For example, enforcing the identification of all these little services will eventually push for leaks, more data theft and more attacks on people.”
The change aims to extend the number of service providers that are targeted to include so -called “derived service providers.” This categorization will aim to include any online service with a revenue of $ 100 million or more than 5,000 active users.
According to the official message, “three types of information and two types of monitoring are also” created as a result of this audit. “In short, like Nymvpn and Proton VPN would be forced to change how they handle their encryption technology and their privacy policy on securing their user’s anonymity.
In Switzerland, the new version of the Monitoring Act aims to make it impossible for Proton, Threema and@NymProject to operate from Switzerland. We are in the consultation phase. We will fight. https://t.co/bcmbxzipfcMarch 25, 2025
Given the pushback against encryption back doors, Switzerland seems to take another approach. According to Roussel, this is still more a “game on words.”
“It’s not about end-to-end encryption. They won’t force you to reveal what’s inside the communication itself, but they want to know where it goes,” Roussel explains. “They are aware that the value is not in what is said, but who you are talking to.”
“The whole point of safety and privacy is unable to associate the use of the person. It’s the most critical thing.” Roussel told Techradar.
What is the next?
It is important to note that the current change is not subject to a parliamentary vote or public referendum under Swiss law. Nevertheless, a public consultation is ongoing now that everyone can participate.
NYM confirmed to Techradar that the team has already begun to build a strategy to fight it with Proton and Threema – and they hope more will follow.
The plan focuses on showing the damage these changes will have for citizens’ online security and the wider Swiss tech industry.
“NYM is still small, but Proton and Threema are really very prominent companies in Switzerland,” Rousseld said, pointing out how the Swiss army itself uses the latter service exactly to its well -known high level of security.
“I think we have good arguments and I think the best argument we have is to show them that they would lose in front of a court.”
