- Swiss government to reconsider its surveillance law amendment
- This comes after backlash from the Swiss tech industry and politicians
- The plan to expand surveillance requirements still remains
The Swiss government has been forced to reverse a controversial decisions that would have considerably expanded surveillance in the country.
The issue first made headlines in March following reports the government was considering a legislative change that experts warned would put secure encryption and online anonymity at risk. However, following a strong backlash, the government has now decided to return to the drawing board.
The proposal sought to expand surveillance obligations currently reserved for telecom networks and internet service providers (ISPs) to target so-called “derived service providers.” This would have included messaging apps, social media platforms, and virtual private networks (VPNs).
However, lawmakers faced resistance from Switzerland’s privacy tech sector, which refused to compromise on user security. Proton, the provider behind one of the best VPN apps on the market, joined forces with NymVPN and secure messaging app Threema to fight the proposal, gaining significant support from across the political spectrum.
The reversal was formalized on December 10 when the Swiss Federal Parliament accepted the motion presented by Council of States member Johanna Gapany, effectively making the legislative change defunct.
While a welcome development, NymVPN COO Alexis Roussel warns that the battle is not over. “There is a small shift happening, which is promising. But still, there is no change in the willingness of the federal government to impose surveillance,” Roussel told TechRadar.
The surveillance paradox
Despite the positive outcome, the parliamentary debate highlighted a fundamental disconnect between the government and tech experts regarding the definition of mass surveillance.
“There is a fundamental misconception in surveillance,” Roussel told TechRadar. “For us, surveillance begins as soon as we collect the data. For them, it’s only when accessing the data that they are surveilling. 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 perceive a significant misunderstanding of the issues at stake in this draft ordinance,” Yen said. “The authorities say that this is in no way a question of mass surveillance. But when the authorities require companies like ours to collect colossal masses of information about their users, what do you call it?”
This philosophical discrepancy prevents the Swiss tech sector from having full confidence 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 will need to find common ground to win over the politicians who opposed the initial plan.
What’s next?
As the Swiss Federal Parliament accepted the motion to revise the surveillance amendment, it confirmed it will first commission an independent impact analysis.
These findings will influence the shape of the new proposal. Once a new version is drafted, the public consultation process will begin.
“This is going to add like a two-year delay at least, which is good,” said Roussel.
What’s certain, however, is that the Swiss tech industry seems to be emerging stronger from this battle – and it isn’t willing to give up.
As Andy Yen wrote in a post: “We remain prepared to take all steps required to protect privacy, including departing from Switzerland if necessary, although we hope it does not come to that.”
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