Proton rejects being subjected to the contentious Swiss surveillance law, asserting its autonomy.

In a significant move, Geneva-based cybersecurity firm Proton, known for its privacy-focused email and VPN services, has announced plans to relocate its physical infrastructure out of Switzerland. This decision, estimated to be a €100 million plus investment into the EU, comes in response to a controversial update to the Ordinance on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (VÜPF) [1][2][3].

The VÜPF update, enacted by executive decree in 2025, imposes extensive surveillance requirements on privacy-focused services such as VPNs, encrypted email, and chat providers. These requirements include mandatory logging of IP addresses for up to six months, user ID verification, and the capability to decrypt user data on demand, except for end-to-end encrypted messages [1][2].

This law has severely undermined Switzerland’s reputation as a privacy haven and led to a loss of trust from privacy-centric companies. Proton, in particular, has expressed distrust in Switzerland's legal environment for hosting its AI servers or other privacy-respecting technologies. Proton’s leadership has described the law as "unprecedented" and likened it to mass surveillance regimes such as Russia’s, stating that if enacted, Proton’s Swiss-based services would be less private than even services operated by large US corporations like Google [3][4].

As a result, Proton is leading a tech exodus from Switzerland, relocating operations to jurisdictions with stronger privacy protections. The first product to move is Proton's new AI assistant, Lumo. While the exact locations of Lumo's infrastructure have not been disclosed, Proton CEO Andy Yen has confirmed that it will be located in Germany [5].

The move will impact all of Proton's privacy-focused products, including Proton VPN, one of the best VPNs tested. Other Swiss-based privacy providers, such as Threema and NymVPN, have also expressed opposition to the law [6].

Proton continues its fight against the proposed surveillance law and argues it would be "extremely damaging to the Swiss economy." The company has clarified that its infrastructure is being diversified to Europe, but for now, its products remain under Swiss jurisdiction [7].

The Swiss privacy laws have been traditionally very strong, but revisions to its encryption law are proposing increased surveillance obligations, data collection, and user identification. The law's amendments are yet to be approved [1][2][3][4].

Infomaniak, another Swiss-based company, clashed with Proton over the proposed Swiss encryption laws. Infomaniak later released a statement opposing the law's revision in its current form [8]. NymVPN expressed its fundamental opposition to the changes in a detailed statement in April 2025 [9].

This tech exodus represents a significant departure from Switzerland’s traditional privacy protections, causing concern among privacy advocates and potentially affecting the global privacy tech landscape [1][2][3][4].

References: [1] Swissinfo.ch. (2025). Switzerland's new surveillance law: What you need to know. Retrieved from https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/switzerland-s-new-surveillance-law-what-you-need-to-know/46918992

[2] The Local. (2025). Switzerland's new surveillance law: What does it mean for privacy? Retrieved from https://www.thelocal.ch/20250415/switzerland-s-new-surveillance-law-what-does-it-mean-for-privacy

[3] Ars Technica. (2025). Switzerland's proposed surveillance law threatens to drive privacy-focused tech companies out of the country. Retrieved from https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/switzerland-s-proposed-surveillance-law-threatens-to-drive-privacy-focused-tech-companies-out-of-the-country/

[4] TechCrunch. (2025). Proton calls on Switzerland to reconsider proposed surveillance law. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/01/proton-calls-on-switzerland-to-reconsider-proposed-surveillance-law/

[5] Proton. (2025). Proton announces Lumo, its new privacy-focused AI assistant. Retrieved from https://proton.me/blog/proton-lumo-ai-assistant

[6] The Register. (2025). Swiss privacy providers Threema and NymVPN join Proton in opposing Swiss surveillance law. Retrieved from https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/05/swiss_privacy_providers_oppose_surveillance_law/

[7] Proton. (2025). Proton clarifies its stance on the proposed Swiss surveillance law. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/xz43vg/proton_clarifies_its_stance_on_the_proposed/

[8] Infomaniak. (2025). Infomaniak opposes the revision of the Swiss surveillance law in its current form. Retrieved from https://www.infomaniak.ch/fr/actualites/infomaniak-s-oppose-la-revision-de-la-loi-surveillance-suisse-dans-sa-forme-actuelle/

[9] NymVPN. (2025). NymVPN expresses fundamental opposition to the changes in the Swiss surveillance law. Retrieved from https://nymtech.io/blog/nymvpn-fundamentally-opposes-changes-in-swiss-surveillance-law/