Swiss politician Meret Schneider threatened for urging social media ban

Meret Schneider, a member of Switzerland’s National Council, is being criticised for suggesting stricter controls on X, Facebook and TikTok due to “their preference for extreme views.” She also suggested banning social media platforms if needed.

 

What did Meret Schneider say?

 

Schneider, a Green Party politician, has spoken about the need to regulate social media and argued that Switzerland is lagging behind in doing so.

 

"The EU [European Union] has been taking action against tech giants for a long time, and we are simply doing nothing," she said while speaking with the Swiss newspaper ‘Tagesanzeiger’.

 

She warned that social media platforms can be a big threat to the democracies as they have the potential to manipulate the public. She pointed to Germany’s election campaign as an example of how social media can impact democracy. “Posts that benefit the AfD are pushed, while opposing content is suppressed,” she said, referring to the right wing Alternative for Germany political party.

 

Schneider also warned that social media manipulation could soon affect Switzerland’s elections. "Today it affects Germany, in a few years it might affect the elections in Switzerland," she said, adding that platforms like X and TikTok may need to be blocked if necessary.

The backlash

Roger Koppel, editor of Swiss magazine ‘Die Weltwoche’, posted a screenshot of the ‘Tagesanzeiger’ article on X. The article, titled "If Necessary, X or TikTok Should Be Blocked," featured a photo of Schneider alongside Elon Musk, the American billionaire who owns the social media platform.

 

His post quickly went viral and triggered strong reactions and criticism to Schneider. Surprisingly, that was not limited to just criticism only, she also claimed to have received death threats from anonymous numbers. Schneider revealed that she received a chilling phone call on Sunday night. “We will kill you; trust me," a male voice reportedly told her.

 

However, speaking to ‘Tagesanzeiger’, Schneider accused Koppel of fueling the backlash. “Koppel served me to his followers on a silver platter," she said.

 

She also claimed that the hate messages are coming not only from German-speaking countries but also from the US and Russia.

 

"So far, most of the attacks have come from German-speaking countries, but now I have the US community against me," she said, noting that many negative comments on X include hashtags like "Make America Great Again," "Free Speech," and "Elon Musk Will Save Us."

 

Who is Meret Schneider?

 

Meret Schneider is a leading member of Switzerland’s Green Party. She started her political career as a municipal councilor in Uster (2014-2019) before being elected to the National Council in 2019. She returned to office in December last year.

 

Apart from politics, Schneider is the co-manager of Sentience Politics, an organisation focused on animal rights, and has been an advocate for reducing meat consumption in Switzerland.