The 34-year-old Strasser has a sound academic background. After studying history and media studies in Basel, he completed a bilingual Master's degree in European Studies at the University of Fribourg. He began his journalistic career as a freelance journalist for various print and online media in Switzerland and abroad. He later became a parliamentary correspondent for private radio stations before joining Swiss Radio and Television in 2019. He currently works as a domestic editor at Radio SRF.

In addition to his work as a journalist, Strasser is also committed to supporting young professionals. From 2016 to 2018, he chaired the "Young Journalists Switzerland" network, which he helped to set up.

"The coming years will be formative for relations between Switzerland and the European Union. It is a great privilege to be able to critically accompany this phase for the SRF audience on location in Brussels," says Matthias Strasser about his new role.

Susanne Brunner, Head of International Editor-in-Chief Audio/Digital, emphasizes: "Matthias Strasser has everything you need for an EU correspondent: in-depth knowledge of Europe and the EU and a high level of motivation to make complex issues understandable to a broad audience."

Since last Friday, August 25, certain rules have been legally enforceable for 19 very large online platforms and search engines in the EU. For example, the companies must remove child pornography or terrorist propaganda more quickly than before.

In turn, it will be easier for users to report such content. Online marketplaces such as Amazon are now obliged to remove counterfeit products or dangerous toys as best they can and to warn buyers. In addition, the companies must regularly report to the EU Commission on the extent to which their platforms pose a threat to mental health or freedom of expression, for example.

EU sees risk to society in platforms

The background is the new EU Digital Service Act (DSA). It lays down very strict requirements for very large platforms and search engines with more than 45 million active users per month. In the EU's view, they pose a particularly high risk to society. If the companies fail to comply with the requirements, they could face a fine of up to six percent of their annual global revenue.

The 19 platforms and search engines initially affected include Zalando, Wikipedia, Booking.com, Amazon Marketplace and Apple's Appstore, as well as Alibaba Aliexpress, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, and the search engines of Google and Bing. In a few months, the rules will also apply to smaller companies covered by the law.