It's official: Switzerland is starting to censor the internet, halle-fucking-luja -_-

Sorry my brain is in sleep mode.

Hallelujah is sarcastic, right?

And censor how exactly? Like news, blogs, social media? And is it a specific topics? Just trying to get the full picture. Thanks

Hasn’t that been happening since about 2002 in some form or another?

@Stuxnet Yeah, that's sarcasm

We had a vote if foreign gambling sites should be blocked country-wide because they don't pay taxes.
I'm not against that per se, but I'm against the censorship of the internet on a country-wide level. Dramatically spoken it could be the foundation to the state China's internet is in right now...

How is this not against the constitutional law? Also, shouldn't it be consumer who pays taxes when they import goods from foreign nations?

As a swiss citizen I completely lost any hope for the swiss voters.

I bet most people had no clue what they are actually voting for. 😑

@deflox Governments are good at influencing outcomes with tactical phrasing and use of keywords.

@mrgadget Voters are often uninformed idiots though.

@Stuxnet true dat!

@electrineer It is, that's why there had to be a vote. And the consumers do pay taxes, as income tax

@gathurian I meant VAT.

Yeah, that's not a "real" censorship.
The topic is quite complicated, but the law just says that "the provider must be compliant with Swiss laws".
If http:///www.HeyYou-WeDoPokerOnline-... doesn't respect them, then they will receive a fine (an expensive one, tho).
The same thing happens on borders, when someone try to import a product.. Or drugs. Is that a censorship too?

This law is a protection for the people (and a way to get more money with taxes), not a simple "YO! I don't like you, get the fuck off".

@taglia It doesnt say anything about a fine, it says they'll be blocked, therefore basically censorship.
(Source: https://m.phys.org/news/... couldn't find all that much in english)

@gathurian I had to search that red book, I remembered there was something about fines.

By the way, the text you copied, "will basically block foreign-based companies", is wrong.

The access will be blocked if "the provider is not authorized to operate in Switzerland" which means that ANY company can be blocked, Swiss too. If a foreign-based company respect the law, it will not be blocked.

I admit, this law is a bit controversial, it has its pros and cons..

@taglia My point is not WHO will be blocked but the fact THAT companies will/might be blocked from the swiss internet