Andy Yen, founder and CEO of Proton, has won the 2026 Liberal Award from the Jungfreisinnige Kanton Zürich (JFZH), the Young Liberals of the Canton of Zurich. The annual prize recognizes a contribution to a liberal society.
The JFZH cited Yen’s work to build a European alternative to major US technology platforms and his advocacy for privacy as Switzerland revisits surveillance rules. Proton, headquartered in Geneva, offers Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Drive and Proton Pass. The company says it serves more than 100 million customers worldwide and employs more than 700 people, including 60 in the Canton of Zurich. It is majority-owned by the non-profit Proton Foundation.
JFZH president Mikhail Shalaev said Yen supports the right to privacy and the presumption of innocence. He also praised efforts to make Switzerland a better place for start-ups and to develop key technologies in Europe.
Switzerland’s Federal Council plans to revise the Ordinance on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (VÜPF). Critics warn the change could enable indiscriminate mass surveillance through mandatory data retention. The proposed revision was overwhelmingly rejected in the first public consultation. The Federal Council has commissioned a regulatory impact assessment and scheduled a second consultation for November 2026.
The award ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, November 12, 2026, at Westhive in Zurich. Yen’s previous award recipients include media entrepreneur Roger Schawinski, former federal councillors Pascal Couchepin, Kaspar Villiger and Guy Parmelin, the Swiss Institute for Economic Policy (IWP), and Argentina’s deregulation minister Federico Sturzenegger.
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