SWITZERLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jürg Schneider, David Vasella and Hugh Reeves, Walder Wyss Ltd
Hugh Reeves is a partner in the regulated markets, competition, tech and IP team at Walder Wyss. Hugh advises clients on technology transactions, commercial contracts,
telecommunications, intellectual property and digitalisation. He is active in the areas of data protection and e-commerce and assists clients with their entry or expansion into the Swiss market.
Walder Wyss Ltd Seefeldstrasse 123
8008 Zurich Switzerland
Tel: +41 58 658 58 58 Fax: +41 58 658 59 59 Email: reception@walderwyss.com Web: www.walderwyss.com
Introduction Three key topics currently in the Swiss data pro - tection and privacy space are the impact of the revised Swiss Data Protection Act (the Federal Act on Data Protection; FADP), which entered into force on 1 September 2023, the renewal of the EU Commission’s adequacy decision for Switzerland and the future introduction of an obligation to report cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures. The entry into force on 1 September 2023 of the revised FADP, in particular, is a crucial develop - ment for companies in Switzerland. Businesses that have not yet done so should finalise their assessment of their compliance with the revised FADP and, if necessary, implement all actions and measures to meet its requirements.
Hot Topic One: The Revised Federal Act on Data Protection The advent of the EU’s new General Data Pro - tection Regulation (GDPR) put additional pres - sure on the Swiss legislature. The GDPR applies to the entire European Economic Area (EEA) and has a potentially worldwide reach due to its extraterritorial scope. Many Swiss companies fall within the scope of the GDPR as well due to their orientation towards the EEA. The revised FADP entered into force on 1 Sep - tember 2023. It largely follows the GDPR’s approach. However, the FADP is less formalistic and has less specific regulatory content. There are only a few aspects where the new FADP is stricter than the GDPR. Examples are the mate - rial scope of application (Article 2 of the FADP), the obligation to provide information (Article 19 of the FADP), the right of access (Article 25 of the FADP) and the existence of criminal sanc - tions for individuals (Article 60 et seqq of the
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