Security News > 2021 > October > Protonmail celebrates Swiss court victory exempting it from telco data retention laws

Encrypted email provider Protonmail has hailed a recent Swiss legal ruling as a "Victory for privacy," after winning a lawsuit that sees it exempted from data retention laws in the mountainous realm.

Referring to a previous ruling that exempted instant messaging services from data capture and storage laws, the Protonmail team said this week: "Together, these two rulings are a victory for privacy in Switzerland as many Swiss companies are now exempted from handing over certain user information in response to Swiss legal orders."

Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court ruled on October 22 that email providers in Switzerland are not considered telecommunications providers under Swiss law, thereby removing them from the scope of data retention requirements imposed on telcos.

The victory comes after controversy over a previous Swiss court order that forced the company to collect mobile device push notification identifiers from a specified user's account.

Protonmail chief exec Andy Yen told The Register his business doesn't routinely collect such data on its users.

A couple of years ago more controversy arose after a Swiss prosecutor described Protonmail as "Voluntarily" offering help to police and government surveillance agencies.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/10/27/protonmail_data_victory/