At Exoscale, we make customer privacy a priority. That’s not an empty sentiment: privacy is engrained in both Swiss culture and law, as well as being a founding principle of our company.

Today, Swiss government agencies cannot look at Exoscale customer data without an order from a Swiss judge. Part of the process of gaining that court order is that the customer is informed of what is happening. Such court orders are rare, though: in the five years that we’ve been running Exoscale, not once has a court ordered us to share customer data with the authorities.

Recently, the Swiss people voted to make it easier for Swiss government agencies, with approval, to access data without notifying that data’s owner. This change will come into effect in September 2017 at the latest.

It is not yet clear what the new law will mean in practice, other than that in the most serious cases of suspected terrorism the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service will be permitted to access data without the knowledge of the person they’re investigating.

Right now, nothing changes for you as an Exoscale customer. Even with the new law in late 2017, we believe that Switzerland will remain one of the safest and most privacy-led countries in which to host your data. Now we at Exoscale are reviewing how the new law will affect how we operate. What won’t change is that your privacy will always be our priority.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly on Twitter.