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   'A violation of fundamental rights' - Civil society calls on Switzerland to   
   abandon data retention proposals   
      
   By Chiara Castro   
      
   VPNs, messaging apps, and social media platforms could soon be forced to   
   collect data to help identify users   
      
    Civil society organizations urge Switzerland to drop surveillance law   
   expansion   
    The proposal would force VPNs, messaging apps, social media to retain more   
   data   
    The Swiss government is in the process of revising the amendment   
      
   A coalition of 19 civil society groups has warned that Switzerland's proposal   
   to extend data retention requirements could violate fundamental human rights.   
      
   In an open letter published on Wednesday, organizations including Amnesty   
   International Switzerland, European Digital Rights (EDRi), Privacy   
   International, and Algorithm Watch urged lawmakers to "abandon any proposals"   
   for wide-ranging, blanket data retention obligations.   
      
   The proposed expansion of Swiss surveillance powers has faced significant   
   pushback from local politicians and privacy-focused tech firms like Proton,   
   NymVPN, and Threema. While these tensions recently led the Federal Parliament   
   to agree to a revision of the amendment, experts have told TechRadar that the   
   government may still look to increase data collection.   
      
   The risks of the new Swiss surveillance law   
      
   Switzerland was once considered the global gold standard for privacy, but that   
   reputation was challenged last year when the government proposed amending its   
   surveillance law, known as the Ordinance on the Surveillance of Post and   
   Telecommunications Traffic (VUPF).   
      
   The changes aim to extend monitoring and data collection obligations - which   
   currently apply to telecoms and internet service providers (ISPs) - to   
   "derived service providers." This broad new category includes VPN services,   
   messaging apps, and social media platforms.   
      
   Crucially, the proposal would force these companies to collect and store   
   specific metadata that could be used to identify users.   
      
   This would allow law enforcement to retroactively identify individuals behind   
   specific internet connections. European Digital Rights (EDRi) argues: "Such   
   levels of surveillance are unacceptable in a democratic society and seriously   
   interfere with people's rights to privacy and data protection."   
      
   In an open letter to the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP),   
   civil society organizations argued that mass data retention is fundamentally   
   incompatible with European legal principles and would "severely undermine" the   
   confidentiality of people's private communications.   
      
   This echoes sentiments shared with TechRadar last year by Swiss-based NymVPN,   
   which described the expansion of surveillance as "a war against online   
   anonymity"   
      
   The open letter also warns that the proposed powers could create a "chilling   
   effect" on broader civil liberties, including freedom of speech, assembly, and   
   a free press.   
      
   Beyond the immediate privacy concerns, experts also raised concerns about the   
   law's potential to create "huge security risks" due to the increase in data   
   collected.  Civil societies also believe that the Swiss amendment fell short   
   legally, infringing both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and EU   
   data protection laws.   
      
   "We recommend instead to align the Swiss legislation with the highest standards   
   of protection set by both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the   
   European Court of Human Rights," the signoatires concluded.   
      
   What's next?   
      
   Last December, the Swiss Federal Parliament accepted the motion by Council of   
   States member Johanna Gapany to revise the controversial March amendment. While   
   this effectively paused the proposal, it did not signal an end to the   
   government's surveillance ambitions.   
      
   Instead, Parliament confirmed it would commission an independent impact   
   analysis before moving forward with a revised version of the law.   
      
   EDRi told TechRadar that its open letter is a strategic move to maintain   
   pressure on the government during this period.  "We want to ensure the   
   fundamental rights impacts of such intrusive measures are centered in the   
   debate and not overshadowed by purely economic arguments," an EDRi spokesperson   
   explained.   
      
   EDRi member, the Swiss-based Digitale Gesellschaft, also told Techradar that   
   privacy-friendly services are being pushed out of the country due to the   
   ongoing revisions. Erik Schonenberger, co-founder of the group, said the   
   proposal "puts secure communication at risk - for example, between   
   journalists, lawyers, and doctors - and thereby undermines fundamental   
   rights."   
      
   PrivadoVPN is the first high-profile casualty of this shift. The company   
   recently confirmed to TechRadar that it is leaving Switzerland and relocating   
   to Iceland on privacy grounds.   
      
   This list may soon grow. Both NymVPN and Proton have said they would consider   
   leaving the country rather than compromising the anonymity of their users if   
   the surveillance obligations become law.   
      
      
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/a-violation-of-fundamental-r   
   ights-civil-society-calls-on-switzerland-to-abandon-data-retention-proposals   
      
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