IT law in the 2025 winter session

Image from 23 March 2023 © Parliamentary Services / Rob Lewis, link: https://www.media-parl.ch/picture.php?/8729/category/277.%E2%80%9D.

The 2025 winter session will focus on topics in the areas of digital and security policy, such as cyber security, digital sovereignty, media and data policy, and the modernisation of government infrastructure. Parliament will address strengthening protection against cyber threats, promoting independent digital solutions and clarifying the legal framework of existing systems – from media promotion and electronic surveillance to international financial market cooperation. There is a clear focus on security, transparency and Switzerland’s technological independence.

IT law topics in the National Council:

Federal Council business «Investment Screening Act»: The Investment Screening Act (ISA) would enable the federal government to screen acquisitions of Swiss companies by foreign investors if they pose a threat to public order or security. The draft bill primarily targets state-controlled investors and critical sectors such as energy, water, health and telecommunications infrastructure. The Federal Council is thus implementing the Rieder motion (18.3021), but continues to reject the law because it considers the cost-benefit ratio to be unfavourable and the existing rules to be sufficient. The National Council adopted the law in September 2024 and extended it to non-state investors. It also wanted to include security of supply as a protected interest and give the Federal Council more leeway. The Council of States considered the bill in March 2025 and adopted it in a slightly watered-down form in September 2025. It limited the review to state investors and removed the aspect of security of supply. In October 2025, the National Council’s Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee largely agreed with the Council of States’ line. The matter is currently being resolved between the two chambers.
Parliamentary initiative «Support measures for electronic media»: The parliamentary initiative aims to create new provisions in the Radio and Television Act (RTVA) to provide financial support for the training and further education of media professionals, the self-regulation of journalistic standards and news agencies of national importance. The contributions will be financed by the levy for radio and television, with a maximum of one per cent of the levy revenue earmarked for these support measures. The Federal Council is to determine the eligible costs and conditions, with the support rate not exceeding 50 per cent. The initiative takes up elements of the media package rejected in 2022, but does not include support for digital infrastructure. The Federal Council welcomed the targeted expansion as a contribution to ensuring media diversity and recommended that the Council enter into deliberations. The Council of States approved the bill in June 2025, followed by the National Council in September 2025. In the reconciliation of differences, the Council of States’ Transport and Telecommunications Committee largely agreed with the National Council in October 2025. The matter is in the final stage of parliamentary deliberation.
Parliamentary initiative «Fair participation of the SRG in the audiovisual production market»: The parliamentary initiative calls for an amendment to the RTVA to regulate the cooperation between the Swiss Radio and Television Corporation (SRG) and the independent audiovisual industry by law. The aim is to oblige the SRG to award a defined proportion of its production and service contracts to independent Swiss providers. This is intended to strengthen the diversity and competitiveness of the domestic production industry and ensure that contracts are awarded in line with market conditions. The draft bill stipulates that the SRG licence will in future contain specific requirements for taking the independent audiovisual industry into account and that the Federal Council will be able to set minimum quotas for the awarding of contracts. In addition, the licence will include provisions to safeguard competition in the markets for audiovisual production and services. The National Council’s Transport and Telecommunications Committee approved the draft in July 2025. The Federal Council proposed to proceed with the bill in October 2025. It emphasised that the regulation would strengthen production diversity and give the industry more planning security. The matter is currently under parliamentary deliberation.
Federal Council business «Commitment credit for the digital transformation of the Central Clearing Office for the years 2026–2032»: The Federal Council has submitted a message to Parliament for a commitment credit of CHF 66.1 million for the years 2026 to 2032 to comprehensively digitise the Central Clearing Office (CCO). The aim of the programme is to modernise the organisation, processes and IT systems, in particular those of the Swiss Compensation Office and the IV Office for Insured Persons Abroad. The total cost of the project is around CHF 123.3 million, of which CHF 57.2 million will be covered by internal resources. The funds will be refinanced in full by the AHV/IV/EO compensation funds. The introduction of a uniform, modular IT solution will automate and secure data transmission, processing and communication with cantons, insured persons and international partners. The reform will enable shorter processing times, more efficient administration and better service quality as the number of cases increases as a result of mobility and population growth. The programme is in line with the digitalisation strategy of the Federal Government and the Federal Social Insurance Office. It complements the planned Federal Act on Information Systems in Social Insurance, which provides for a central electronic platform for the first pillar. The Finance Committee of the National Council unanimously supports the commitment credit and welcomes the expected efficiency gains and modernisation measures. The matter will first be dealt with by the National Council in the 2025 winter session.
Motion «Sufficient funds for civil cyber security»: The motion calls for a significant increase in the budget of the Federal Office for Cyber Security (BACS) from 2026 onwards: instead of the 16.3 million Swiss francs provided for in the financial plan, 26.3 million Swiss francs should be made available, rising to 31.4 million Swiss francs in subsequent years. The additional funds would enable the BACS to counter the increasing cyber threats and fulfil new legal tasks, in particular the obligation to report cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, which will come into force in 2025. The funding is to be offset within the army’s IT budget. The justification refers to the 2024/1 half-yearly report on cyber security, which shows a sharp increase in cyber incidents: over 34,000 reports in the first half of the year, almost twice as many as in the previous year. The motion aims to ensure that the BACS can perform its expanded tasks with sufficient resources. The Federal Council recognises the growing need for action and shares the assessment that a budget increase should be considered. However, it rejects the motion, in particular because of the planned full compensation for the army’s IT expenditure. This expenditure is relevant to the security of the armed forces’ operations and digitalisation and is already heavily burdened. The matter is currently being debated in the National Council.
Federal Council business «International automatic exchange of information on salary data. Federal Act»: In May 2025, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on a new federal act on the international automatic exchange of information on salary data. This is intended to create the legal basis for implementing the agreements concluded with France and Italy on the taxation of cross-border commuters and teleworking. The law regulates the automatic and mutual exchange of wage data between the participating countries in order to ensure correct taxation in the country of residence. Within Switzerland, the cantonal tax authorities will transmit the relevant information to the Federal Tax Administration. The bill was received positively by the majority in the consultation process; the Federal Council amended it to give the cantons the option of requiring employers to submit data electronically. The National Council approved the draft. In October 2025, the Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee of the Council of States proposed that the bill be taken up. It also advocated that employers should be fined for negligent breaches of duty, in line with the provisions of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation. The matter is currently in the process of resolving differences.
Motion «More participation, better digitalisation»: This motion calls on the Federal Council to focus more on participatory, transparent and coordinated processes in legislative and other projects in the digital sphere. The aim is to incorporate knowledge and ideas from science, business and civil society at an early stage in order to better respond to dynamic developments, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). This so-called community-building approach is intended to complement existing procedures and increase social acceptance of digital solutions. The motion emphasises that participatory methods such as collaborative online platforms or iterative development processes can help to create practical and broadly supported regulations. Examples of this are the ‘Plateforme Tripartite Suisse’ on digital governance and AI, and the transparent development of the e-ID trust infrastructure. The Federal Council shares the motion’s objectives and proposes its adoption. It sees a coordinated and open approach as an important contribution to the further development of digital administration and to an innovation-friendly and socially anchored digitalisation policy in Switzerland.
Motion «You hang the little ones first, let the big ones go» (Die Kleinen hängt man zu Hunderten auf, den Grossen lässt man laufen): The motion calls for an amendment to the Weapons Act in response to the increasing number of criminal proceedings against people who unknowingly order prohibited imitation weapons via online platforms such as TEMU or Amazon. The import of such products, such as slingshots or deceptively real toy weapons, is punishable without a licence, but many consumers are unaware of this because there are no corresponding notices on the platforms. To relieve the burden on the judiciary, either the sellers should be held liable or minor cases should be settled with simple fines. In addition, online retailers should be obliged to clearly label prohibited items for Switzerland. The Federal Council plans to revise the Weapons Ordinance to clarify the definition of imitation weapons that can be confused with real weapons. The aim is to limit criminal proceedings to high-risk cases. It does not currently consider a change in the law necessary, but emphasises the duty of consumers to inform themselves and is engaged in dialogue with foreign platforms to improve labelling. The matter is currently before parliament.
Motion «Change to the national RIPOL search system»: The motion calls on the Federal Council to adapt the national RIPOL search system so that the skin colour of wanted persons can once again be recorded as a search and identification feature. The background to this is a decision by the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) to remove this information from the system following an official complaint. The motion justifies its request by arguing that the indication of skin colour is of practical importance for police work. According to feedback from cantonal police forces, this characteristic facilitates the search and identification of wanted persons. Fedpol made the change without consulting the cantons, even though RIPOL is a joint instrument of the national and cantonal police authorities. A minority of the relevant committee rejects the motion. It fears that reintroducing the ‘skin colour’ field would be problematic and could have discriminatory effects.
Motion «digitisation of driver IDs»: This motion instructs the Federal Council to amend the legal basis so that driver IDs and vehicle registration documents will also be recognised in digital form in future. The aim is to allow electronic documents to be treated as equivalent to physical documents and to remove the obligation to carry paper documents. The motion criticises the current ‘paper requirement’ as outdated and calls for modernisation in line with the federal government’s ongoing digitalisation strategy. Digital driving licences and vehicle registration documents should be able to be presented electronically during traffic checks, for example via a state-approved app or a secure digital wallet. The digitisation of these IDs is intended to simplify processes for citizens and authorities, reduce administrative costs and improve the integration of e-government services. The bill is part of efforts to gradually digitise state identity and authorisation documents, as is already planned for the new e-ID.
Parliamentary initiative «Finally criminalise cybergrooming with minors»: The parliamentary initiative calls for so-called cybergrooming – i.e. the deliberate initiation of sexual contact between adults and minors on the internet – to be explicitly criminalised and made a public offence. The aim is to effectively protect children from sexual abuse in the digital space as well. Despite existing criminal law provisions, the current law often falls short in such cases, according to the explanatory memorandum. Adults can initiate sexual contact with minors via digital channels without necessarily facing criminal consequences. The initiative therefore calls for an amendment to the Criminal Code: either a separate offence of cybergrooming should be created, which also covers preparatory acts for a meeting with minors, or existing provisions should be expanded. In addition, sexual harassment of children on the internet should generally be considered an offence prosecutable ex officio, so that authorities can take action regardless of whether a complaint has been filed. The bill is currently undergoing preliminary review by parliament.
Parliamentary initiative «New criminal offence of cyberbullying»: This parliamentary initiative calls for the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC) to be amended to include a separate criminal offence of ‘cyberbullying’. The aim is to create a legal basis for consistently punishing targeted digital harassment, insults or public humiliation of individuals. According to the initiative, cyberbullying includes systematic defamation, threats or humiliation via digital channels such as social media, chats or emails. Unlike traditional bullying, online attacks are anonymous, reach a wide audience and remain permanently accessible. This can cause considerable psychological damage to those affected – even leading to suicidal thoughts. A study by the ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) shows that around a quarter of children and young people in Switzerland have already been victims of such attacks. The initiator argues that existing criminal offences such as coercion or defamation are not sufficient, as cyberbullying usually consists of a multitude of individual acts. A clearly defined offence is intended to create legal certainty, have a preventive effect and facilitate prosecution. Other countries, such as Austria, have already taken such a step. The business is currently undergoing preliminary review in parliament.·
Motion «For a sovereign, secure and context-sensitive AI assistant for members of parliament»: The motion calls for the development of a dedicated AI assistant for members of the Federal Assembly. The tool is to be based on an open-source language model, hosted on Swiss servers and connected to the relevant federal databases. The aim is to facilitate parliamentary work while ensuring digital sovereignty and data security. The justification refers to the increasing use of commercial AI tools such as ChatGPT by council members. According to the motion, these tools pose risks, such as the outflow of sensitive information abroad or possible bias in the responses. A sovereign, state-controlled assistant would offer a secure and independent alternative. Among other things, it could summarise draft legislation, compare texts or support topic analysis. On 14 November 2025, the Office of the National Council announced that the Administrative Delegation (AD) recommends rejecting the motion. A feasibility study shows that the development of such a system would involve high costs and considerable technical complexity. Although Parliamentary IT (PIT) is generally in favour of using AI, it advocates a step-by-step approach. As a first step, existing functions, such as the search options in Parlnet, are to be improved with AI. The AD has instructed the Parliamentary Services to further examine the introduction of AI-supported functions. It recommends rejecting the motion itself.

IT law topics in the Council of States:

Interpellation «Swiss payment transactions in the grip of US giants. Strengthening digital sovereignty»: The interpellation addresses Switzerland’s increasing dependence on large US technology companies in the field of digital payment transactions. Apple in particular is accused of disadvantaging Swiss payment providers such as TWINT by restricting access to the NFC (near field communication) interface on its devices. While non-discriminatory access is mandatory in the EU, in Switzerland it remains subject to a fee and tied to the use of Apple Pay. The interpellant, Damian Müller, sees this as a clear competitive disadvantage for Swiss providers and a threat to the country’s digital sovereignty. The Federal Council was therefore asked to provide information on how it assesses the regulatory and economic consequences of this dependency and what measures are planned to strengthen domestic systems and open standards. In its statement, the Federal Council refers to ongoing work to strengthen digital sovereignty, including as part of the ‘Digital Switzerland Strategy’ and the national strategy for the protection of critical infrastructure. In addition, the Cartel Act is suitable for punishing discriminatory behaviour by market-dominant players, such as the refusal to grant interface access. However, there is no general obligation to provide access free of charge, as is the case in the EU Digital Markets Act. The Federal Council emphasises the importance of open standards, interoperable systems and an independent Swiss digital infrastructure, but sees no immediate need for legislative action.
Federal Council business «Federal Act on the National System for Querying Addresses of Natural Persons (Address Service Act, ADG) »: With the Address Service Act (ADG), the Federal Council wants to create the basis for a national address service (NAD) that will centralise access to address data for the resident population from 2025 onwards. The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) will operate the system, which will allow administrative bodies at all levels and authorised third parties with a legal mandate to query address data throughout Switzerland. The aim is to achieve more efficient administration, fewer undeliverable items and higher data quality. The project is part of the ‘Digital Administration Switzerland’ strategy and is financed by it. Municipalities will be able to access the NAD free of charge; other users will pay cost-covering fees. Data protection will be maintained: access rights will be granted by the FSO and strictly controlled. The Council of States already gave its clear approval to the bill in 2023. The National Council, on the other hand, initially referred it back to the Federal Council in 2024 on the grounds that it lacked a clear constitutional basis and recognisable benefits for the population. After further hearings and adjustments, the lower house finally agreed with the Council of States in March 2025 and narrowly passed the bill in September 2025. In the ongoing dispute resolution process, the Council of States’ Political Institutions Committee is proposing to remove the primacy of cantonal law in data transfer and to limit the exemption from fees to resident services.
Motion «Combating hate speech on the internet. Public funds should not be used to support anonymous comments»: The motion calls on the Federal Council to ensure that media outlets and platforms that receive public funds no longer allow anonymous or pseudonymous comments. People who publish online comments on such portals should be identifiable by their real identity. The aim is to prevent the spread of hate speech, lies and insults on the internet and to strengthen the individual responsibility of commentators. The explanatory memorandum refers to the increasing coarsening of online discourse. Subsidies could be withdrawn in the event of violations. The Federal Council shares the concern to combat hate speech on the internet effectively, but rejects a legal requirement to use real names. In its view, such a measure would be disproportionate and difficult to implement legally, as most public media subsidies are not geared towards online offerings. Furthermore, the federal government lacks the authority to attach such conditions to cantonal or municipal subsidies. Instead of legal regulation, the Federal Council refers to self-regulation by the media industry, for example through the guidelines of the Swiss Press Council, as well as planned regulations for large online platforms, which are intended to further strengthen protection against hate speech.
Motion «Strengthening the role of hosting and cloud providers in combating cyber threats»: The motion calls on the Federal Council to create a legal framework that assigns clear rights and obligations to hosting and cloud providers in the fight against cyber attacks. The aim is to prevent the misuse of their infrastructures for criminal activities and to strengthen general cyber security in Switzerland. The Federal Office for Cybersecurity (FOC) is observing an increasing number of attacks carried out via Swiss hosting infrastructures, including against operators of critical infrastructures. Legal regulations would oblige hosting and cloud providers to take active measures against such abuses and enable them to do so. The Federal Council shares this assessment and proposes that the motion be accepted. It sees this as an important step towards increasing the resilience of digital Switzerland and closing the legal loophole with regard to internet providers.
Motion «Navigation systems must also contribute to safety»: The motion calls on the Federal Council to create a legal basis that will oblige navigation system operators to display officially ordered road closures on their maps in future. The aim is to reduce the increasing amount of diversion traffic through villages and side roads and to increase road safety, particularly in affected regions along the north-south axes. The Federal Council rejects the motion. It emphasises that temporary driving bans and road closures are already signalled and transmitted to navigation systems in real time via existing interfaces. Providers have a vested interest in keeping this information up to date. A legal obligation is therefore superfluous. In addition, the Federal Council points to legal and practical hurdles: Swiss laws cannot directly oblige foreign navigation providers, and an indirect penalty provision would be virtually unenforceable. A comprehensive obligation to update all navigation services – including foreign or free apps – would violate international obligations, such as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
The interpellations «Swiss Post is relocating its IT services to Portugal. Does the Federal Council intend to respond to this?» and «Swisscom is cutting jobs in Switzerland and relocating further jobs to Latvia and the Netherlands. How does the Federal Council intend to respond? » address the relocation of IT jobs abroad by two companies with close ties to the federal government. The criticism is that, despite more than 6,000 IT specialists being registered as unemployed in Switzerland, jobs are being outsourced to Portugal, Latvia and the Netherlands. Both interpellations call on the Federal Council to comment on this approach, as Swiss Post and Swisscom are majority-owned by the federal government. In both cases, the Federal Council refers to the companies’ entrepreneurial responsibility. The establishment of foreign locations is compatible with the respective strategic objectives and serves to ensure competitiveness. The Federal Council rejects any direct influence on operational decisions. According to Swiss Post, no redundancies are planned in Switzerland; at Swisscom, a large part of the workforce will remain in Switzerland.
Motion «Surveillance of postal and telecommunications traffic. Maintaining the competitiveness of our economy, creating jobs and safeguarding fundamental rights»: The motion calls on the Federal Council to fundamentally revise the implementing ordinances to the Federal Act on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (SPTA) and to put them out for consultation again. The draft, which was consulted on in early 2025, was widely criticised. It provides for a significant expansion of cooperation obligations, which would place a heavy technical and financial burden on many SMEs. There are also fears that the new requirements could weaken Switzerland’s competitiveness and drive companies abroad, as in the case of the Geneva-based tech company Proton. The motion also warns of a disproportionate restriction of fundamental rights and a possible development towards mass surveillance. The Federal Council stated that the comments would be carefully examined. The Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) is currently revising the drafts and has commissioned a regulatory impact assessment. A new consultation process may be possible once this assessment has been completed.
Motion «Do not tolerate the hosting of child pornography in Switzerland»: The motion calls on the Federal Council to create a legal basis that obliges hosting and cloud providers to report references to child pornography, block such content and inform their customers about reporting options – analogous to the obligations of telecommunications providers under Article 46a(3) of the Telecommunications Act (TCA). The background to this is that, according to the Internet Watch Foundation, Switzerland ranked fourth worldwide in 2023 for hosting child pornography material. While there are legal reporting and blocking obligations in the EU, Switzerland currently only has a voluntary code of conduct. The motion calls for Switzerland to bring itself into line with European standards in the fight against digital sexual violence and to create clear obligations for providers in order to better protect children and consistently prosecute offenders.
Motion «Better protection of intellectual property against AI misuse»: The motion calls for the Copyright Act (URG) to be amended so that AI providers cannot use copyrighted works – in particular journalistic content – for training purposes or generative AI offers without the consent of the rights holders. It also seeks to make it clear that AI services cannot invoke copyright exceptions and that Swiss law applies when such content is offered in Switzerland. The Federal Council supports the motion and recognizes the need for better protection of intellectual property against unauthorized access by AI applications. It views the proposed amendments as important for maintaining innovation and fair competition in Switzerland and for protecting the media industry from economic harm. The National Council adopted the motion with an amendment in the 2025 autumn session. The matter will be dealt with by the Council of States in the 2025 winter session.
Federal Council business «Financial Market Supervision Act and other legislation. Amendment with regard to cooperation with foreign authorities»: The Federal Council has adopted the dispatch on the amendment to the Financial Market Supervision Act (FINMASA) and other legislation. The aim is to modernise the legal framework for international cooperation in the financial sector in order to meet the requirements of cross-border financial business. The amendments are intended to strengthen the integrity, transparency and stability of the markets and promote the competitiveness and international networking of the Swiss financial centre. The following amendments in particular are planned for FINMASA: a restriction of the client procedure in FINMA administrative assistance proceedings in cases of market abuse, new provisions on international cooperation in audit and recognition procedures, on the cross-border service of documents and on the direct transmission of information by supervised companies. In addition, the regulations on cross-border audits are to be expanded. The Audit Oversight Act (AOA) and the National Bank Act (NBA) also create a legal basis for remote audits and the involvement of the SNB. The majority of responses to the consultation were positive, prompting the Federal Council to make a number of clarifications to increase legal certainty. The Council of States will debate this matter in its upcoming session.
Parliamentary initiative «Electronic monitoring for partially suspended sentences. The total duration of the sentence is decisive»: A new motion calls for clarification in the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC): In the case of partially suspended prison sentences, the use of electronic monitoring should in future be determined not by the unsuspended portion of the sentence, but by the total sentence. The background to this is a Federal Court ruling from 2024, which allows persons with partially suspended sentences of up to three years – provided that the unsuspended portion does not exceed twelve months – to serve their sentence under certain circumstances with an electronic tag. The proposed amendment to the law is intended to correct this development and ensure that electronic monitoring remains possible only for sentences of up to one year in total. This is intended to restore the previous restrictive practice and create legal certainty. The National Council has approved the motion. Now that the Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation has also approved the motion, it will be submitted to the Council of States for discussion in the upcoming session.