- The Swiss government will reconsider its amendment to the surveillance law
- This comes after backlash from the Swiss tech industry and politicians
- The plan to expand monitoring requirements remains
The Swiss government has been forced to reverse a controversial decision that would have greatly expanded surveillance in the country.
The issue first hit the headlines in March after reports the government was considering a law change that experts warned would jeopardize secure encryption and online anonymity. After a strong backlash, however, the government has now decided to return to the drawing board.
The proposal sought to extend the monitoring obligations currently reserved for telecommunications networks and internet service providers (ISPs) to target so-called “derivative service providers”. This would have included messaging apps, social media platforms and virtual private networks (VPNs).
However, the lawmakers faced opposition from Switzerland’s privacy technology sector, which refused to compromise on user security. Proton, the provider behind one of the best VPN apps on the market, teamed up with NymVPN and secure messaging app Threema to fight the proposal, garnering significant support from across the political spectrum.
The reversal was formalized on 10 December when the Swiss Federal Parliament accepted the proposal put forward by member of the Council of State Johanna Gapany, effectively repealing the amendment.
While that’s a welcome development, NymVPN COO Alexis Roussel warns that the battle is not over. “There is a slight shift happening, which is promising. But still there is no change in the federal government’s willingness to impose surveillance,” Roussel told TechRadar.
The surveillance paradox
Despite the positive outcome, the parliamentary debate highlighted a fundamental disconnect between the government and technology experts regarding the definition of mass surveillance.
“There is a fundamental misunderstanding in surveillance,” Roussel told TechRadar. “For us, the monitoring starts as soon as we collect the data. For them, it’s only when they access the data that they monitor. So collecting the data is not a problem.”
The sentiment echoes comments made by Proton CEO Andy Yen to Swiss newspaper Le Temps following the decision. “I still see a significant misunderstanding of the issues at stake in this draft executive order,” Yen said. “The authorities say this is in no way a matter of mass surveillance. But when the authorities require companies like ours to collect colossal amounts of information about their users, what do you call it?”
This philosophical discrepancy prevents the Swiss tech sector from fully trusting that lawmakers truly understand why the original proposal was so problematic.
Nevertheless, the vote represents a significant political defeat for the government. And any future compromise must find common ground to win over the politicians who opposed the original plan.
What’s next?
When the Swiss federal parliament accepted the proposal to review the surveillance change, it confirmed that it will first commission an independent impact assessment.
These results will influence the design of the new proposal. When a new version is prepared, public consultation begins.
“This will add like a delay of at least two years, which is good,” Roussel said.
What is certain, however, is that the Swiss tech industry seems to be emerging stronger from this battle – and it is not willing to give up.
As Andy Yen wrote in a post: “We remain prepared to take all necessary steps to protect privacy, including leaving Switzerland if necessary, although we hope it will not come to that.”
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