National security laws

Swiss spy law seen passing with voters on security concerns

Swiss voters on Sunday were seen backing a law extending the national spy service's authority to monitor internet traffic, deploy drones and hack foreign computer systems, early returns published on Swiss state television showed.

The measure cleared Swiss Parliament a year ago, but privacy advocates and left-leaning political parties collected more than 50,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot, customary in Switzerland's system of direct democracy.

The Swiss government had contended the nation's outdated intelligence laws had left Switzerland ill-equipped to tackle threats that have intensified as militants deploy new technology in a tight-knit global network.