Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Facebook to double numbers in Zurich office

The logo of Facebook is reflected in the eye of an adolescent, photographed in Zuric h
Facebook opened an office in Switzerland’s financial hub after the acquisition of Zurich Eye. Keystone

Facebook wants to double the number of employees at its Zurich office, which currently employs 80 people, according to the regional head of the social network.  

In Zurich, where the American giant has been operating since 2016, the employees work mainly in the field of augmented reality and virtual reality.

“In the future, their number will have to double, also in the commercial sector,” Tino Krause, the head of the social network for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, announced in an interview with the German daily “Handelsblatt” published on Tuesday.

Facebook opened an office in Switzerland’s financial hub after the acquisition of Zurich Eye, a spinoff of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich).

With the Zurich office, the importance of the German-speaking region is growing, Krause said. He described this market as “decisive”, since the “data protection theme is resolutely being pursued from here”.

“My ambition is clearly that our region should be a pioneer in data protection,” he added, noting that progress made in this region will have a major influence on product development in the United States.

Data Security

Facebook, he continued, has “radically” changed in terms of data security. In this area, the company invested $3.7 billion (CHF 3.7 billion) this year and employs 30,000 people in this area. “Everyone knows: Facebook must become more secure,” he said.

The Federal Trade Commission Protecting America’s Consumers fine Facebook a whopping $5 billion this summer  – the largest ever imposed on a company anywhere for violating consumers’ privacy.

Among Facebook employees, the duty to protect users and their data “whatever they do or develop” is clear, notes Kreuse.

The Swiss parliament is currently discussing an overhaul of data protection laws.

The revision aims to better defend citizens’ rights when a company collects their data. It also aims to adapt to European standards.

 

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR