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.
More
More
Controversial anti-terrorism law wins voter approval
This content was published on
Swiss voters have endorsed a series of measures allowing police to crack down against militant extremists and apply preventive detention.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
Why cars still reign supreme in ‘rail-nation’ Switzerland
Swiss government adopts three-pronged approach to end violence against women
This content was published on
Over the next few years, the federal government intends to take action against gender-based violence in three main areas.
Uri voters clear path for hotel and marina complex in central Switzerland
This content was published on
Voters in canton Uri in central Switzerland have rejected a Green Party initiative aimed at regulating the development of the lakeside site in Isleten.
Valais voters reject plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040
This content was published on
Voters in canton Valais in southern Switzerland have turned down a proposal for the region to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Voice recognition has hidden dangers, says Swiss report
This content was published on
Online speech and face recognition digital systems, such as Alexa, should be better regulated to protect consumers, a Swiss technology think tank advocates.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.