Artificial Intelligence - Switzerland

On 12 February 2025 the Federal Council formally decided against enacting a general cross-sector AI law. The policy prioritises three objectives: strengthening Switzerland as an innovation hub, protecting fundamental rights, and building public trust through sector-specific rules and non-binding measures rather than a sweeping regulation.

Switzerland signed the Council of Europe's Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (STCE No. 225) in Strasbourg on 27 March 2025. Ratification requires parliamentary approval and may be subject to a public referendum.

FDJP (with DETEC and FDFA) is to submit a legislative consultation draft by end-2026 implementing the CoE Convention through measures on transparency, data protection, non-discrimination, and oversight. A parallel non-binding implementation plan covering industry voluntary commitments is also due by end-2026.

The Federal Data Protection Commissioner (FDPIC) confirmed in May 2025 that the revised Federal Data Protection Act (FADP), in force since 1 September 2023, is directly applicable to AI systems processing personal data. Data subjects retain rights to transparency and to request human review of automated individual decisions.

FINMA issued Guidance 08/2024 (December 2024) applying existing governance, risk-management, and outsourcing duties to AI use by supervised financial institutions, without creating new substantive law. A FINMA survey published April 2025 found approximately half of ~400 supervised institutions already deploy AI.

Despite not adopting the EU AI Act, Swiss companies placing AI systems or general-purpose AI models on the EU market are subject to it. Providers of GPAI models must appoint an EU-authorised representative by 2 August 2025, creating a compliance obligation independent of Switzerland's domestic approach.