This is actually the entirety of the text, from about halfway down the newsletter.
Proton prepares to leave Switzerland: VPN company Proton is investing more than 100 million Swiss francs ($123 million) in data center infrastructure outside Switzerland. Investments are being made in data centers in Germany and Norway. The company is preparing a possible move due to "legal uncertainty" over a newly proposed Swiss surveillance law. Switzerland is home to several VPN, secure email, and encrypted messaging providers. The new law would require the providers to implement stricter logging and data collection.
The original piece (archive.is link) is in French. I expect more news to come out about this.
‘Legal uncertainty’ almost always ends up being a pretext for more surveillance. If even Switzerland which built its reputation on neutrality and privacy is moving toward stricter logging, then it seems we’re entering an era where protecting privacy will depend on individual know-how and communities, not states.
Let's work on it. Write and curate guides. Actively help people. Spread the word, fight the statists and corporations.
Last week I helped my aunt get and learn to use a Linux laptop. She's a pensioner and not techie. But she loves Mint. Its just 1 person. But it's one person more than before that doesn't get tracked.
I have also been a fan of Mint for many years, I have tried to influence people in my family and friends to do the same, some with success and others not, you see, ease only takes one click, while freedom takes a lot of effort.
I think the important thing here was that my aunt was already motivated to do something about her digital fingerprint. Not even because she's afraid of leaks or being targeted, but because she's grown skeptical of corporate and government ability to safeguard data they don't need. I felt she was mostly triggered by the Win 11 updates / AI integration.
A lot of people that I talk to actually worry about that, but not everyone is willing to step onto the learning curve.
Unfortunately, this is a reality, and the most worrying thing is that many young people are neither interested in learning nor care about protecting their personal data, they just offer it. (at least in my country)
Young people have been indoctrinated by big tech. I know exactly 1 person born this century that doesn't use any social media at all by choice (i.e. not because parents forbid)
This 1 person at least shows us that there is hope, for him and for those others like him, we are obliged to proclaim everywhere that privacy and individual freedom are precious goods in this era.
Privacy under attack all over the world.
I'm glad they're being proactive.
But where would they go? Iceland?
Germany + Norway now, and I guess if EU chat control goes through (because Germany chooses the "yes" path, currently not set in stone), just Norway?
Iceland no... Sweden could be an alternative? Otherwise it'll get real thin... Curacao maybe? They're in trouble w/ EU for all the online casinos now though, so I expect them to change.
Yes, according to some news article[1] (in German) they will move part of the operation to Germany and Norway.
https://www.watson.ch/digital/schweiz/125523195-proton-verlagert-infrastruktur-angst-vor-schweizer-ueberwachungsgesetz ↩
North Korea?
Great idea.
I'm trying to think how we could set up an incentive for politicians to safeguard privacy, and honestly, not much comes to mind. It may be the nature of government to always seek as much info about its people as possible.
Why would they stay in Europe
Horrendous news. EU is no better.
Whoa everywhere wants to know your business even if your boring it’s wild
That is a worry. Where could they move to if Switzerland is no longer viable?