SP calls for official Switzerland to withdraw from X

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• The SP is calling for the complete withdrawal of official Switzerland from Platform X, which it describes as a place of right-wing extremism, paedocrime and the glorification of violence.
• The Federal Council, departments and offices continue to use X for communication, which is also criticized by the Greens, but defended by the FDP and the Centre Party.
• The SP has announced parliamentary initiatives if the federal government does not distance itself from the platform in the near future.

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Official Switzerland should no longer operate accounts on the short messaging service X. According to the SRF program "Heute Morgen", the SP is demanding this in a letter to Federal President Guy Parmelin, Federal Chancellor Viktor Rossi and the presidents of the National Council and Council of States.

In the letter, the SP demands the complete withdrawal of official Switzerland from the platform. "This is now a hotbed of right-wing extremism, of humiliation, it has also become a place where pedocriminality is completely normal," said SP Co-President Cédric Wermuth in Tuesday's broadcast. According to Wermuth, anyone who continues to be active there is making themselves an accomplice. "This no longer has anything to do with a normal social medium, it has become truly dangerous." The Federal Council and Parliament must therefore withdraw from X.

The Federal Council as a whole has an account on tech billionaire Elon Musk's platform, which was recently criticized for the deepfake porn images generated by the AI bot Grok. Individual federal councillors such as Guy Parmelin and various departments and federal offices also publish information on X.

Green Party National Councillor Gerhard Andrey declared in "Heute Morgen" that such a "smut channel" was not worthy of the Swiss Confederation. He also called on the Federal Council to regulate platforms such as X more strictly and to ensure the protection of minors.

SP announces initiatives

The conservative parties take a different stance. "Personally, I believe that parties should not dictate to the Federal Council or the administration which platforms they should use," said FDP Co-President Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher. Center Party President Philipp Bregy emphasized that it would be wrong to simply withdraw from the communication space and leave the field to others. Politicians must also take clear positions there.

Wermuth disagreed with the arguments about the loss of a communication channel. "I don't think you lose anything there - at most you lose credibility if you stay there," he told SRF. The SP has announced parliamentary initiatives if the federal government does not withdraw from X in the coming days.