Switzerland adopts revised data protection law

Switzerland’s Parliament adopted on 25 September a modernised data protection law which replaces the 1992 Data Protection Act.

The Bill for a revised DP law was published in 2017 to ensure that the law would continue to be seen as “adequate”. Switzerland is a member of the European Free Trade Area, and the EU granted Switzerland an adequacy decision for international data transfers in 2000.

Whilst this is a complete revision of the law, the basic principles remain the same.

The Swiss DPA said in a statement: “The FDPIC welcomes the completion of the total revision of the Data Protection Act that the Federal Council submitted for parliamentary deliberation in a dispatch three years ago. This enhances the Swiss public’s right to privacy and to determine how their data are used, better reflecting today’s digital reality.”

“The FDPIC will offer a more detailed statement on the revised law once the ongoing referendum period has expired.”

See The Federal Assembly — The Swiss Parliament official bulletin