Encrypted app moves to Switzerland due to Australia's privacy laws
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Developed in 2018 by the Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation (OPTF), Session allows users to communicate anonymously by bypassing traditional identifiers like phone numbers or emails.
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Banner of the company Session displayed on the app's Twitter account. (X/@session_app)
Session, an encrypted messaging app founded in Australia, has shifted its operations to Switzerland, citing a hostile regulatory environment in Australia that threatens the integrity of privacy-focused technologies.
Developed in 2018 by the Australian-based Oxen Privacy Tech Foundation (OPTF), Session enables anonymous messaging by using decentralized technology and avoiding personal identifiers such as phone numbers or emails.
The decision to move came after multiple interactions between OPTF employees and Australian law enforcement, including visits from Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The visits reportedly raised questions about Session's encryption and decentralized structure.
Under Australia's 2018 anti-terror legislation, law enforcement can mandate tech companies to provide "technical assistance" in investigations, potentially forcing companies to break their encryption—a requirement that Alex Linton, director of OPTF, believes undermines privacy tools.
"The legislative and regulatory landscape in Australia is just completely hostile towards building a privacy tool such as an encrypted messaging app," Linton said, adding that the threat of forced cooperation with law enforcement compromised their credibility as a secure platform.
when the authorities request that session starts collecting your phone numbers pic.twitter.com/pby4SC9OVN
— Session (@session_app) November 4, 2024
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Australia's new regulatory measures, including anticipated age-assurance requirements for social media and a new code affecting encrypted messaging from the eSafety Commissioner, were also factors in the organization's decision to transfer responsibilities to a newly created Switzerland-based entity, the Session Technology Foundation.
Linton pointed to Switzerland's supportive approach to encryption and privacy, contrasting it with Australia's, which he described as "actively trying to snuff out" privacy-enhancing technologies.
A new Swiss foundation—the Session Technology Foundation—has been created for the ongoing stewardship of Session 🇨ðŸ‡
— Session (@session_app) October 15, 2024
Session is now more resilient to hostility towards encrypted messaging, and better positioned to protect your privacy.
Learn more:https://t.co/eZIbCdTtH5
While the AFP confirmed awareness of Session, linking it to "serious commonwealth offenses," they declined further comment on their interactions with OPTF.
Meanwhile, Senator David Shoebridge of the Greens criticized the Australian government's approach, calling it "seriously troubling" and questioning whether protecting privacy itself was being treated as suspect behavior.
"Are police now taking the view that just trying to protect your privacy makes you potentially guilty?" Senator Shoebridge said.
"We need a sovereign tech industry that delivers safe and secure products for local users and to make this happen the industry is telling us they urgently need an effective suite of privacy and data laws."
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