PrivadoVPN and Switzerland

PrivadoVPN is a Swiss-based no-log VPN service that protects your privacy at all times. Switzerland is a country that has established itself as a benchmark for privacy. Jurisdiction for an online service provider should never be underestimated. Swiss laws are extremely protective when it comes to users of an online service provider. On the other hand, Swiss is also equally protective of online service providers’ rights. Switzerland’s long history of advocacy for net neutrality and its establishment of strong privacy laws make it a choice to scale tech privacy services. 

In contrast to other European neighbors, Switzerland is not a member of the EU and its privacy laws are not subject to EU member states’ pressure or undue influence. While Europe is also fighting a strong battle for users’ right to online privacy, many of the directives that are passed in the Union have historically led to poorly implemented and fragmented privacy laws. 

PrivadoVPN is an application layer service provider that does not qualify as a Telecommunication Service Provider (TSP) under Swiss law. This signifies that our service is not subjected to any mandatory data retention requirements. That is why PrivadoVPN doesn’t deem it necessary to have any information stored outside of an email address and username to provide our service. A username and email address are also the only information we have at hand if we are required to provide any data to authorities when presented with a valid Swiss court order. When using our VPN to access the Internet, we do not log online traffic or any communications. We also cannot identify a user with a PrivadoVPN IP address. PrivadoVPN services, including our no-log policy, are within the jurisdiction of Swiss law and protected by Swiss law. 

Targets of surveillance under Swiss law are required to be notified by prosecutors and have the right to be heard in a Swiss Court of Law. In contrast, when it comes to surveillance in the U.S. and EU, authorities often use gag orders to prevent citizens from knowing when they are being surveilled or are the subject of an investigation. However, there is a loophole. If you are using a Swiss-based provider, your activities under this provider are subject to Swiss law. That is to say that any foreign government or law enforcement agency wanting to compel information or customer data of a user of a Swiss-based online service provider must go through the Swiss court of Law.    

Switzerland has a long history of maintaining its independence and is not a signatory to any surveillance agreements with other countries or governments. While many have heard of Edward Snowden and his surveillance revelations of 2013, most people are unaware of the depth and the extent to which many countries have been partaking in spying on their own citizens and citizens of the world. While explicitly forbidden by each country’s domestic laws, the U.S. and the UK have both entered into secret agreements to spy on regular citizens. 

Mutual global surveillance started shortly after WWII and initially comprised of the Five Eyes Alliance: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These surveillance alliances have expanded over time to nine countries and now include fourteen countries. 

Five Eyes                                  
1. United States
2. United Kingdom
3. Canada    
4. Australia
5. New Zealand    

Nine Eyes                      
6. Denmark  
7. France
8. Netherlands
9. Norway

Fourteen Eyes  
10. Germany
11. Spain 
12. Sweden
13. Italy
14. Belgium                      

Switzerland is not a member or party to any surveillance alliances. 

Countries that are members of the surveillance alliances collect and share signal intelligence (information) with other members. Human intelligence (CIA, MI6, SIS), Signal Intelligence (NSA, GCHQ), Security Intelligence (FBI, MI5) and Defense Intelligence (DIA, DI) are a few examples of the types of intelligence and representative organizations that collect and share their collected data. 

Mass surveillance is not limited to the members of the Fourteen Eyes. In fact, Israel and Japan have also been suspected of spying on behalf of the NSA. Other countries, such as Thailand, India, France, Singapore, and South Korea, share intelligence with the Five Eyes Members as multilateral group members. 

In today’s world, encryption is really the easiest and fastest way for a person to protect their privacy. Using PrivadoVPN makes it extremely difficult for surveillance agencies to track you online and record your activities. Privacy online is under attack from every possible access point, even from our undersea cables. Any data that is moving or in transit online must be encrypted in today’s global surveillance game. On top of a Swiss-based VPN provider, we also recommend using an encrypted messaging service, a private search engine, and a secure web browser to protect your activities and information. Always use encryption and never go online or access Wi-Fi hotspots without PrivadoVPN.