Data protection for private individuals in Switzerland

Art. 6 DPO

Processing regulations for federal bodies

Chapter 1: General ProvisionsSection 1: Data Security

Statutory textStatus: 1 December 2025

1 The responsible federal body and its processor must issue processing regulations for automated processing if they:

  • a.

    process sensitive personal data;

  • b.

    carry out profiling;

  • c.

    process personal data in accordance with Article 34 paragraph 2 letter c FADP;

  • d.

    allow cantons, foreign authorities, international organisations or private persons access to personal data;

  • e.

    link data collections with each other; or

  • f.

    operate an information system or manage data collections with other federal authorities.

2 The regulations must in particular include details of the internal organisational structure, data processing and control procedures, and the measures that guarantee data security.

3 The responsible federal body and its processor must update the regulations regularly and make them available to the data protection officer.

Source: Version on FedlexThis translation is not an official version. Only the German, French and Italian versions are legally binding.

In brief

Federal bodies must issue processing regulations for automated processing, for example if they process sensitive personal data, carry out profiling, make data accessible to other bodies or link data files. The regulations must be updated regularly and made available to the data protection officer.

What does this mean for me?

This obligation concerns federal bodies. For you, it means: if a federal office processes sensitive data about you, it must have laid down internally how this is done and checked.

Explanation by mydatenschutz.ch in plain language – not legal advice. The statutory text is authoritative.