Swiss tighten data surveillance after bomb threats

Data surveillance will be tightened up following a spate of bomb threats. Keystone / Sascha Steinbach

In future, it will be easier to trace anonymous bomb threat calls in Switzerland and locate people at risk more quickly during emergency searches.

The Federal Council has introduced changes to the monitoring of telephone and internet data with effect from 1 January 2024.

+ The rising tide of state surveillance

The aim of the amendment is to enable more precise positioning of telephone and internet data and to continue to ensure effective criminal prosecution, the Federal Council announced on Wednesday.

During the consultation process, however, digital-savvy and left-wing circles criticised the fact that the amendment to the Act on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic would lead to an expansion of surveillance.

Due to the criticism, the Federal Council has now decided not to force providers of services such as Whatsapp, Threema or Signal to remove the encryption from their chats when surveillance is ordered.

However, it intends to maintain the introduction of seven new types of information and surveillance. This is necessary due to new technologies such as 5G.

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