IT Law in the Autumn Session 2022

The Federal Parliament will discuss various IT law topics during its 2022 Autumn session. Digitalisation continues to be a major topic. On the one hand, the Federal Act on the Use of Electronic Means for the Performance of Public Authority Tasks will be discussed, and on the other hand, the National Council will vote on several motions calling for the Federal government to provide financial aid for digitalisation projects in the private sector.

IT Law topics in the National Council:

• Motion: Taking Switzerland forward. Pushing digital flagship projects of public interest. This motion asks the Federal Council to create the legal basis for supporting digital flagship projects of relevant public interest. The aim is to provide start-up funding. The scope of application refers to both private projects and private-public partnerships that serve a public interest and strengthen Switzerland as a business location. The motion was adopted by the Council of States in the Spring session and now, in the Autumn session, also by the National Council.
• Motion: Consider gender perspective in digitalisation. This motion asks the Federal Council to integrate the gender perspective into its next digitalisation strategy. The National Council adopted the motion in the Autumn session on the recommendation of the Federal Council.
• Federal Act on the Protection of Minors in the Fields of Film and Video Games (JSFVG). The JSFVG will be dealt with again in the Autumn session– in a procedure for the reconciliation of differences between the two chambers of the Parliament.
• Use of electronic means for the performance of public authority tasks. The Federal Act on the Use of Electronic Means for the Performance of Public Authority Tasks is intended to create the legal basis for an effective digital transformation in the Federal administration and for cooperation between authorities of different communities and third parties in the area of e-government. After the Council of States, the National Council will discuss the draft in the Autumn session.
• Motion: Strengthen sustainable development and digitalisation in tourism through Innotour. This motion asks the Federal Council to create a long-term funding option for sustainable development and digitalisation projects in the Federal Act on the Promotion of Innovation, Cooperation and Knowledge Building in Tourism (Innotour).

IT law topics in the Council of States:

• Motion: Electronic Patient Records (EPR). Make it practicable and secure it financially. With this motion, the Federal Council is requested to ensure both the financing of the implementation and the cost-covering financing of the maintenance and operation as well as the further development of the EPR and its infrastructure in the long term, by regulating the mutual tasks and responsibilities with the Cantons. At the same time, the motion asks the Federal Council to ensure (and, where necessary, create a legal basis),
  • that the EPR is user-friendly, easily accessible (incl. eID), reduces administration and brings added value for all stakeholders,
  • that the technical and organisational complexity of the EPR is reduced and that a central EPR infrastructure is available for patient record storage and for data exchange with healthcare professionals,
  • that the EPR infrastructure can be easily integrated into the digital business processes of the health care providers.
• Furthermore, various motions concerning the EPR will be discussed in the Autumn session:
  • Motion: Electronic invoices should also be stored in the electronic patient record.
  • Motion: Electronic patient record. Promote its dissemination as part of alternative insurance models.
  • Motion: Introduction of digital patient administration.
  • Motion: Introduction of a unique patient identifier.
• Motion: Master plan for digital transformation in the healthcare sector, use of legal standards and existing data. The Federal Council is requested to amend the Epidemics Act so the Federal government can initiate and coordinate the management of data collection at the national level. The private sector should be more closely involved in the process.
• Motion: Platform for provenance research on cultural property in Switzerland. (1) With this motion, the Federal Council is requested to finally present a concrete master plan for the Ettlin motion (21.3957) “Digital transformation in the healthcare sector. Finally catching up!”) to present a concrete master plan that reliably sets out the digitalisation goals in terms of time and content and shows how they are to be achieved. In the digitalisation of the healthcare system, the legally defined, uniform standards and existing databases should be used and further developed, provided they are not profit-oriented or state-supervised. The Federal Council shall also report annually to the Parliament on the status of the digital transformation in the healthcare sector. (2) Furthermore, the Federal Council is requested to use the SMVS data (Swiss Medicines Verification System) for the digital management of supply constraints for human medicines and to create a legal basis. To ensure that the SMVS data set is always complete and reliable, the Federal Council should declare the placement and verification of the safety features and devices to be mandatory in the Ordinance on the Individual Identification Features and Safety Devices on the Packaging of Medicinal Products for Human Use – as it is in the EU.
• Motion: Protect minors under the age of 16 effectively from pornographic content on the Internet. This motion asks the Federal Council to submit to the Federal Assembly the legal amendments that oblige telecommunications services providers to block access to providers who distribute pornographic content within the meaning of Article 197 paragraph 1 of the Swiss Criminal Code (SCC) without taking sufficient technical precautions to protect minors under the age of 16. The motion was already adopted by the National Council in the spring session. Implementation would represent the second case of sovereign network blocking after the gambling sector.