Switzerland says yes to surveillance
Government not aiming to set up a vast data-gathering apparatus — minister
Swiss voters looked set to approve a new surveillance law yesterday, in a victory for the government which argued the security services needed enhanced powers in an increasingly volatile world.
Preliminary referendum results from the gfs.bern polling group showed the proposed law had won 66 per cent support across the wealthy alpine nation.
Switzerland’s police and intelligence agencies currently have limited investigative powers compared to other developed countries: phone tapping and email surveillance are banned, regardless of the circumstances.
But the new law change that.
Swiss Defence Minister Guy Parmelin insisted the government was not aiming to set up a vast data-gathering apparatus, similar to the one developed by the US National Intelligence Agency that came into the public eye in part through former contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations.
“With this law, we’re leaving the basement and coming up to the ground floor by international standards,” Parmelin told reporters earlier this year.
“We shouldn’t compare [the Swiss proposal] to the United States or other major powers who have considerable means but go well beyond what is desired in terms of individual liberty ... and will security for our citizens.” Phone or electronic surveillance of a suspect could only be triggered with approval by a federal court, the defence ministry and the cabinet, according to the law.
Bern has said these measures would be used only a dozen times a year, to monitor only the highest-priority suspects, especially those implicated in terrorism-related offences.
The law was approved by parliament in 2015, but an alliance of opponents, including from the Socialist and Green parties, got enough signatures to force yesterday’s referendum. The poll was part of Switzerland’s direct democracy system, in which votes are held on a wide range of national issues four times a year, and even more frequently at regional and municipal levels.
Polls closed at 1000 GMT and results were being reported by canton. Some polling stations were open on Saturday, while many voters sent in ballots by mail.
The government’s victory will come as a blow to privacy advocates including rights group Amnesty International, which said it would allow “disproportionate” levels of surveillance.