- The federal government wants to impose greater obligations on IT companies to monitor users.
- Critics accuse the Federal Council of having made few changes to the draft despite massive criticism.
- Companies like Proton and Nym are threatening to move out of Switzerland because of the planned rules.
Get more data about suspicious people faster and more. This is what cantonal public prosecutors and police investigators want. A revised regulation on the monitoring of postal and telecommunications traffic, or Vüpf for short, should make this possible.
The Justice and Police Department (EJPD) under Beat Jans wants to revise the regulation and sent a corresponding draft for consultation at the beginning of 2025. This didn’t go down well (see box). But there is now also criticism of the revised version. The “Republic” judges harshly: “The Federal Council has learned nothing.”
“Dardest Surveillance Dreams”
That’s why there is criticism of the new draft
A new, still secret draft has been circulating since February 2026. But the version is not really new, writes the “Republic”. There are only a few changes. For example, the number of companies that would be affected by the regulation has been reduced: now there will only be those with more than 100,000 customers instead of 5,000.
This doesn’t change anything for big IT players in Switzerland like Proton or Threema. And so Proton communications chief Edward Shone also called this second draft “unacceptable”. The Nym company from Neuchâtel is also not happy: “If this new draft stays like this, we will definitely turn away from Switzerland,” quotes “Republic” Alexis Roussel, lawyer and chief operating officer at Nym. Rahel Estermann from the Digital Society Association should understand this: the new template is “not a game changer” and is still characterized by the spirit of surveillance.
The Federal Council’s reaction to the criticism
The Federal Council is not taking the criticism into account. According to Jean-Louis Biberstein, lawyer and spokesman for the postal and telecommunications monitoring service responsible for the deal, it is not a final draft. According to the “Republic”, however, it is questionable how neutral Biberstein is in this matter. She calls Federal Councilor Jans “the surveillance service’s whisperer.” He and his team have been pushing for the tightening of surveillance laws for years at the request of cantons and criminal investigators.
At the same time, he promises IT companies an open ear, but doesn’t actually offer it. An accusation that Biberstein and his team rejected: “Our approach is to communicate transparently, listen and at the same time make responsible decisions.”
It is unclear whether and how the contents of the secret draft revision will be incorporated into the next draft. According to “Republic”, the Federal Council plans to publish the report at the end of the second quarter of 2026.
What do you think about government surveillance on the Internet?
Fee Anabelle Riebeling (fee) has been working for 20 minutes since 2014. She is deputy. Head of Knowledge, History & Digital and Head of the Fact Check & Verification expert committee.
