Summary
The Swiss Federal Council opened a consultation on 5 June 2026 regarding the partial revision of the Federal Act on Product Safety (PrSG). The revision aims to strengthen product safety and introduce new regulations for online commerce. The PrSG has been in force since 2010 and is now being fundamentally modernized for the first time. The consultation runs parallel to the revision of the Federal Act on Technical Trade Barriers and closes on 28 September 2026.
Persons
- Federal Council (collectively; regulatory authority)
Topics
- Product safety
- Online commerce
- Regulation and compliance
- Market surveillance
Clarus Lead
The revision responds to the dramatically increased importance of cross-border online commerce, which circumvents previous control mechanisms. Economic actors in e-commerce currently face insufficient transparency and cooperation obligations, creating safety risks for consumers. With new market surveillance instruments and a planned supervisory fee on direct imports, the Federal Council aims to create parity between online and offline commerce – a decisive step for digital market regulation in Switzerland.
Detailed Summary
The partial revision of the PrSG introduces concrete obligations for online sellers: they must henceforth provide product identification data, warnings and safety notices, designate a reachable contact point, and cooperate with enforcement authorities. These requirements address a regulatory gap, as international online platforms have thus far contributed minimally to product control.
New market surveillance instruments are being created for enforcement: an information and warning system for authorities, the ability to make covert product purchases for control purposes, and the authority to block access to non-compliant online offerings. To finance this surveillance, the revision provides for a supervisory fee on direct imports from abroad – a mechanism that redistributes the costs of market surveillance to those responsible. Administrative measures against negligent economic actors complement the regulatory framework.
The parallel revision of the Federal Act on Technical Trade Barriers (THG) underscores the conceptual interconnection of both regulatory frameworks in the context of digital market integration.
Key Statements
- The Federal Council is modernizing the 16-year-old product safety law with a focus on online commerce
- New transparency and cooperation obligations for online sellers are intended to close safety gaps
- Market surveillance is financed through technical instruments and a supervisory fee on direct imports
- Administrative measures enable swift enforcement against non-compliant offerings
Critical Questions
Evidence: What data demonstrates that product safety in online commerce has been inadequate to date? Are there statistics on defects or accidents caused by unsafe online products?
Conflicts of Interest: How will it be prevented that the supervisory fee on direct imports is misused as a hidden protectionist measure in favor of domestic providers?
Causality: To what extent does the supervisory fee actually address safety problems, rather than primarily addressing the competitiveness of Swiss merchants against foreign providers?
Feasibility: How is the blocking of online offerings to be technically and legally enforced when the platforms are hosted abroad?
Side Effects: Could the supervisory fee lead to higher prices for consumers, particularly for direct imports?
Resources: What government capacity is required to systematically conduct covert product purchases and enforce violations?
Source Directory
Primary Source: Federal Council Press Release: Consultation on the Partial Revision of the Federal Act on Product Safety – news.admin.ch, 05.06.2026
Verification Status: ✓ 05.06.2026
This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-check: 05.06.2026