Draft bill on communication platforms and search engines in Switzerland

Introduction

The Swiss Government has launched a public consultation on a proposed Act on Communication Platforms and Search Engines operating in the Swiss market (the “Bill”). The Bill aims to enhance users’ rights and promote transparency around content moderation, advertising and recommendation systems, while enabling independent oversight and research access.

The Bill draws inspiration from the EU’s Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act; DSA) but it is more narrowly tailored to conditions in Switzerland. The Bill only applies to platforms and services with significant reach and influence in Switzerland.

The public consultation period is open until 16 February 2026.

Scope of application

The Bill targets service providers offering services in Switzerland, irrespective of the domicile of the provider. The Bill targets only “very large” platforms, defined as those that have at least 10% of the Swiss resident population as monthly active users over a six‑month period. This corresponds currently to approximately 900,000 users.

The Bill is applicable to platforms whose primary function is to store and publicly disseminate user content to influence opinions, for entertainment or education purposes (e.g. social networks, video platforms, micro‑blogging), as well as search engines. Non‑profit services without an economic purpose (e.g. Wikipedia) and smaller or medium‑sized services are outside the scope of the Bill.

Key obligations

The Bill focuses on procedural safeguards, transparency and systemic risk controls, rather than the content of communications. Some of the key obligations are the following:

• Content notification and action: Platforms must provide an easy-to-use electronic mechanism for users to notify publicly available content suspected to be illegal under Swiss criminal law (e.g. defamation, insult, discrimination and incitement to hatred).
• Internal complaint process: A free, electronic internal complaint process must be in place for (i) users who submitted a notice and (ii) users who believe their content has been wrongly restricted. All decisions must be made under supervision of a qualified human and not exclusively by automated tools.
• Out‑of‑court dispute resolution: Users must be able to submit disputes on moderation decisions to certified dispute resolution bodies. Participation is mandatory for platforms (subject to limited exceptions). The dispute resolution process has tight timelines (90 days; up to 180 days in complex cases) and it must be free or subject only to a nominal fee for users. Platforms shall cover all associated costs.
• Transparent terms of service: Providers would have to clearly disclose, in German, French and Italian and in plain language, (i) what content restrictions apply, (ii) which measures are taken for which violations, and (iii) how moderation, notification, and internal complaint procedures work.
• Advertising transparency: All paid advertisements must be clearly labeled. Users need to have direct, easy access to key targeting parameters.
• Recommender systems transparency: Providers need to disclose the main parameters and weighting used by recommendation systems and any user‑controllable settings.
• Transparency reporting: Providers must publish annual transparency reports, including average monthly users (updated every six months) and details on moderation activities (methods, processes, human and automated resources and quality controls). Additionally, providers have to publish the types and volumes of restrictive measures, notice handling, and complaint statistics.
• Annual systemic risk assessment: Each year, providers must assess and report on systemic risks in Switzerland, including the spread of potentially unlawful content, negative impacts on users’ fundamental rights (in particular freedom of expression and information) and adverse effects on influencing public opinion, elections and votes, public order and security, and public health. Supporting documentation must be retained for three years.
• Points of contact and legal representation: Providers that do not have any Swiss presence have to designate a representative in Switzerland. Providers are required to maintain an electronic point of contact for the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) and users. Such point of contact must accept notices in a Swiss official language (German, French or Italian) and must ensure accessible, user‑friendly communications supported by human agents (not solely by chatbots).

Enforcement and penalties

OFCOM will be the primary enforcement authority under the Bill. It shall maintain a publicly available list of in‑scope providers. OFCOM will have the power to order corrective measures and, as a last resort, mandate telecommunications providers to temporarily restrict access to a non‑compliant service. Administrative sanctions include:

• For serious violations (e.g. failure to implement notice, complaints, advertisement archive or recommender obligations; systematic refusal to participate in out‑of‑court proceedings; non‑compliance with OFCOM decisions), fines up to 6% of the average global turnover over the last three financial years.
• For other violations (e.g. transparency of terms; diligence; transparency and risk reports; point of contact or representative designation; independent evaluation; research data access; information duties), fines up to 1% of the average global turnover over the last three financial years.
• For certain third parties (e.g. representatives) breaching information duties, fines up to 10% of the national turnover for legal entities or up to CHF 100,000 for individuals.
• Decisions by OFCOM can be published (subject to standard data protection rules).

Relationship to EU law

Although the Bill mirrors the structure and objectives of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), it is not a direct extension of EU law. The key differences include its scope (only applicable to very large platforms and search engines), and the lack of other EU platform-specific instruments adopted in parallel, such as Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on P2B fairness, Directive (EU) 2019/2161 on modernising consumer protection, or Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (Digital Markets Act).

The Bill also embeds Switzerland‑specific features such as the Swiss legal representative requirement and tailored reporting, certification, and fee frameworks.

Practical implications

• Compliance requirements for online service providers: If the Bill is enacted in its current form, very large platforms and search engines serving Swiss users should map their Swiss user reach against the 10% monthly threshold and, if in scope, assess readiness against the new specific requirements in Switzerland. Providers already aligning with the DSA will benefit from synergies but should anticipate Swiss procedural, language, and governance particularities.
• For professional users: Professional users (sellers, creators, publishers, and other business users) could benefit from clearer, multilingual terms and reasoned notices when content visibility, monetization, or account access is restricted, supported by free internal complaints and certified out‑of‑court resolution. They could also gain from better advertising transparency and tools (including proper labeling, targeting controls, and a public ad archive).
• For consumers: Consumers could expect more transparent advertising (clear labels, “why this ad” information, and a public ad archive), simpler reporting of suspected illicit content with feedback on outcomes, and clearer explanations of recommender systems with at least one non‑profiling option. They could also expect access to free internal complaints and certified out‑of‑court resolution, and communication in Switzerland’s official languages with human support.

The proposed Bill marks a notable shift in the (currently mostly absent) regulation of large online platforms and search engines. While it draws from the EU’s regulatory framework, it introduces distinct Swiss requirements in areas like language, legal representation, and local risk assessment. These provisions will impose new compliance and operational obligations on the platforms and could reshape how these services interact with Swiss users.

After the close of the consultation period, the Swiss Government will likely prepare a final draft bill that will go through the ordinary legislative process in the Swiss Parliament and may eventually face a referendum. Stakeholders may want to follow the legislative process closely and plan for compliance early.

Please do not hesitate to contact us in case of any questions.

Legal Note: The information contained in this Smart Insight newsletter is of general nature and does not constitute legal advice.