Amendment to the Swiss Telecommunications Surveillance Laws Application Scope: Opening of Public Consultation

by Jacques Bonvin, Clara-Ann Gordon, Boris Catzeflis

The Swiss Federal Council has recently published for public consultation until May 2025 the draft amendment to the personal scope of application of the Swiss Federal Act on the Surveillance of Post and Telecommunications and its implementing ordinances, Switzerland’s legal framework governing telecommunications surveillance. These laws and regulations are an important tool for the prevention of criminal activities in Switzerland and for law enforcement. They impose telecommunications surveillance obligations on providers of telecommunications services, including operators of telecommunications infrastructure, Internet access providers, cloud service providers and email service providers. Compliance may include obligations such as conducting surveillance mandates, disclosing certain information to authorities and retaining certain data. This newsletter outlines the key changes that the draft amendment may introduce, as well as the impact thereof on the duties of providers of telecommunications services, should the draft amendment be adopted as it stands.