Meta Information

Author: Federal Office of Communications BAKOM
Source: Federal Law Website
Publication Date: November 2024
Summary Reading Time: 3 minutes

Executive Summary

Switzerland is planning comprehensive regulation of communication platforms and search engines, strongly aligned with the European Digital Services Act (DSA). The preliminary draft includes transparency obligations for content removal, mandatory complaint procedures, and disclosure of advertising and recommendation algorithms. For companies, this means: adapting compliance structures to new standards that could be harmonized between Switzerland and the EU – with significant impacts on digital business models.

Critical Key Questions

1. How can platforms ensure the balance between effective content moderation and protection of free speech without falling into "over-deletion"?

2. What competitive advantages or disadvantages arise for Swiss tech companies compared to EU competitors through independent but DSA-similar regulation?

3. To what extent will the obligation for algorithmic transparency fundamentally change existing business models of search engines and social media platforms?

Scenario Analysis: Future Perspectives

Short-term (1 year)

Implementation phase: Platforms begin technical adjustments to their systems
Compliance costs increase by an estimated 15-20% for affected companies
First test cases in complaint mechanisms establish precedents

Medium-term (5 years)

Consolidation of smaller platforms unable to meet compliance requirements
Emergence of specialized RegTech service providers for platform compliance
Possible harmonization between Swiss and EU standards creates unified legal framework

Long-term (10-20 years)

Paradigm shift from self-regulated to state-supervised digital spaces
Emergence of alternative platform models with transparency focus as USP
Potential global standards based on European-Swiss model

Main Summary

Core Topic & Context

The Swiss preliminary draft on platform regulation responds to the increasing societal importance of digital communication spaces. The initiative follows the European trend toward stronger regulation of tech giants and aims for more transparency, user rights, and democratic control.

Key Facts & Figures

DSA threshold: Enhanced obligations from 45 million EU users
NetzDG deadline: Germany requires deletion of illegal content within 24 hours
Platform threshold: German regulation applies from 2 million users
Transparency reports: Semi-annual obligation in several EU states
Core areas: Content removal, complaint procedures, advertising labeling, algorithm disclosure

Stakeholders & Affected Parties

Primarily affected: Large tech platforms (Meta, Google, TikTok, X)
Secondary: SMEs with digital platforms, advertising agencies, content creators
Beneficiaries: Consumers, research institutions, regulatory authorities

Opportunities & Risks

Opportunities:

Level playing field for European tech companies
Strengthening of consumer protection and digital sovereignty
New business fields in compliance tech

Risks:

[⚠️ To be verified] Possible migration of tech companies
Over-regulation could hamper innovation
Risk of "over-deletion" of legitimate content

Action Relevance

Immediate action: Inventory of existing moderation practices
Medium-term: Building compliance teams and systems
Strategic: Adapting business models to transparency requirements

Comparative Analysis: Regulatory Approaches

| Regulatory Aspect | Switzerland | EU (DSA) | Germany | |----------------------|-----------------|--------------|-------------| | Transparency obligation | ✅ Planned | ✅ Active | ✅ Since 2017 | | Complaint procedures | ✅ Internal & external | ✅ Multi-level | ✅ Internal | | Algorithm disclosure | ✅ Planned | ✅ For VLOPs | ❌ Not regulated | | Research access | ✅ Planned | ✅ Mandatory | ⚠️ Partial |

Bibliography

Primary Source:

[Platform Regulation Europe - Overview Document](Federal Law Website)

Supplementary Sources:

Verification Status: ✅ Facts checked on 28.11.2024