Who is Meret Schneider? Swiss politician receives death threats after criticising Elon Musk’s X
Swiss lawmaker Meret Schneider called for stricter regulation of social media platforms like X, Facebook, and TikTok. Schneider is a member of the Green Party.
Meret Schneider, a member of the National Council of Switzerland, is receiving backlash after she said social media platforms such as X, Facebook and Tiktok should be more strictly controlled due to “their preference for extreme views.”
What did Meret Schneider say?
Schneider, a member of the Green Party, spoke about regulating social media.
"The EU has been taking action against tech giants for a long time, and we are simply doing nothing," Schneider told Swiss German-language newspaper Tagesanzeiger.
She claimed that the election campaign in Germany shows how platforms like X, Facebook, and TikTok pose a threat to democracy.
“Posts that benefit the AfD are pushed, while opposing content is suppressed,” she claimed.
Schneider also called for immediate regulation of social media, suggesting that these platforms may ultimately need to be blocked.
“Today it affects Germany, in a few years it might affect the elections in Switzerland,” Schneider told the newspaper.
The backlash -
Roger Köppel, the editor of the Swiss weekly magazine ‘Die Weltwoche’, uploaded a screenshot of the Tagesanzeiger article on X. The article, titled “If Necessary, X or TikTok Should Be Blocked,” featured a photo of Schneider and Elon Musk.
The post soon went viral, sparking outrage. The 32-year-old Zurich native later told Tagesanzeiger that she began receiving anonymous calls on Sunday evening, including one where a male voice threatened, “We will kill you, trust me.”
Responding to the backlash, she told the newspaper, “Köppel served me to his followers on a silver platter.”
She claimed that she is now facing hate from both Americans and Russians.
“So far, most of the attacks have come from German-speaking countries, but now I have the US community against me,” she said, adding that many of the negative comments on X feature hashtags like "Make America Great Again," "Free Speech," or "Elon Musk Will Save Us."
Who is Meret Schneider?
Meret Schneider is a prominent member of the Green Party. Her political career began as a municipal councilor in Uster from 2014 to 2019. She was then elected to the National Council in 2019 and returned in December last year. Schneider is also the co-manager of Sentience Politics, an organization focused on animal rights, and has been an advocate for reducing meat consumption in Switzerland.