Data protection for private individuals in Switzerland

Art. 39 FADP

Data processing for purposes not related to specific persons

Chapter 6: Special Provisions on Data Processing by Federal Bodies

Statutory textStatus: 7 July 2025

1 Federal bodies may process personal data for purposes not related to specific persons, in particular for research, planning or statistics, provided:

  • a.

    the data are anonymised as soon as the purpose of processing permits;

  • b.

    the federal body only discloses sensitive personal data to private persons in such a manner that the data subjects are not identifiable;

  • c.

    the recipient only transmits the data to third parties with the consent of the federal body that disclosed the data; and

  • d.

    the results are only published in such a manner that the data subjects are not identifiable.

2 Articles 6 paragraph 3, 34 paragraph 2 and 36 paragraph 1 do not apply.

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

In brief

Federal authorities may process data for research, planning and statistics if they anonymise the data as soon as possible and the results do not allow conclusions to be drawn about individuals.

What does this mean for me?

You must not be identifiable from federal statistics.

Implementing provisions in the Data Protection Ordinance (DPO)

  1. Art. 35 DPOData Processing for Purposes not related to Specific Persons

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