Both the foreign ministry and SECO have investigated whether cloud technology is being made available from Switzerland for military purposes.
Keystone / Walter Bieri
Google provides Israel with cloud services that are co-developed in Switzerland and may also be used for military purposes. Does Switzerland have a regulatory gap when it comes to these technologies?
In the digital age, data analysis is an invisible weapon of war. Artificial intelligence (AI) helps to analyse large amounts of information and assess potential targets. A recent example is the war in Gaza, where, according to researchExternal link, Israel is already using AI. This requires powerful cloud systems.
Google Switzerland has a major development centre in Zurich. The tech giant supplies cloud infrastructure to, among others, the Israeli government. This has drawn criticism, as Israel is said to be using it in the war as well.
A former Google employee in Zurich claims that internal enquiries on the matter were dismissed. He wishes to remain anonymous. “Whenever we raised the issue at Google, they deflected the conversation,” he told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
The so-called Project Nimbus is a multi-year contract worth $1.2 billion (CHF970 million) between Israel and the tech giants Google and Amazon. Under the terms of the contract, the tech firms provide cloud infrastructure to the Israeli government and the military.
Following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent outbreak of the Gaza War, there were repeated protests by Google employees who accused Israel of using Google’s cloud technologies against civilians during the Gaza War. Dozens of employees were dismissed following the protests.
In response to criticism of the Nimbus project, Google has consistently emphasised that the company does not sell its tools for military purposes. Furthermore, they must not be misused.
Various media outlets, such as The Washington PostExternal link and the online magazine +972External link, have reported on several occasions in recent years about how tech companies such as Google are said to be collaborating with the Israeli military.
Official investigation
So is cloud technology possibly being made available from Switzerland for military purposes? Research by the magazine Republik External linkhas revealed that the Swiss authorities have investigated this.
This is because if the provision of cloud infrastructure were to be classified as a private security service abroad, there would be a reporting obligation. The foreign ministry is responsible for this. In certain cases, the Goods Control Act applies to so-called dual-use goods, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes. Export would then be subject to authorisation. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is responsible for this.
No breach of the law
Research by Republik shows that the collaboration between Google and Israel is not covered by either the Federal Act on the Provision of Private Security Services Abroad or the Arms Control Act.
However, SECO states that “modern tools are certainly also used for military purposes – although the control mechanisms have so far lagged behind this development”.
More
More
Our newsletter on geopolitics
In response to an enquiry from SRF, SECO states that Switzerland is committed, within the framework of international agreements, to ensuring that regulatory controls keep pace with technological developments. Furthermore, the government sees no urgent need for action.
Politicians take action
This is not enough for Farah Rumy, the Social Democrat parliamentarian from Solothurn. She has tabled a motion calling for stricter regulation. “The fact that cloud services are not subject to any licensing or notification requirements means we have a regulatory gap,” she says.
Reto Nause, a parliamentarian for the Centre Party, disagrees. He fears that extending regulation would weaken the Swiss economy: “We are a hub for technology, and if developers were suddenly labelled as mercenaries, Switzerland would lose its appeal in this sector.”
Google has emphasised to SRF that it provides only general, standardised cloud services. The company denies providing any specific military applications. For the former Google employee, however, one thing is clear: “We need more rules from the politicians.”
Take part in the debate:
Translated from German, sub-edited by Thomas Stephens
