Summary

  • Switzerland plans to let users report any content they suspect is unlawful to covered communication platforms, expanding the list of offences in the consultation draft.
  • The Federal Council also wants very large platforms and search engines to assess and mitigate risks to minors. Neither change is law yet; the drafting milestone is in 2027.

The Swiss Federal Council has changed the scope of its proposed platform law after reviewing 214 consultation submissions. Its 14 October decision would extend the user-notice procedure to all content suspected of being unlawful. The preliminary draft had limited the route to a list of offences. The Council also wants to add risk assessment and mitigation duties for very large communication platforms and search engines, plus a ban on profiling-based advertising to minors.

These are instructions for the next draft, not duties now in force. The Council directed the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) to prepare a dispatch. The French and German releases specify the end of June 2027; the English summary says the end of 2027. That date is a drafting target, not a commencement date. The announcement does not publish revised bill text.

The consultation ran from 29 October 2025 to 16 February 2026. The official results report counts 136 participants as wholly or partly supportive, 53 as wholly or partly opposed, 13 as neutral and 12 as declining to state a position. These are submissions by consultation participants, not a poll of Swiss residents or a vote on a final law. The Federal Council described the draft as broadly supported, but the result was not unanimous.

In the draft published for consultation, a user could notify a communication platform about content they believed illegal. The minimum list covered nine categories, including depictions of violence, defamation, threats, sexual harassment and discrimination or incitement to hatred. A platform then had to process a notice and reach a timely decision on whether to act. The rule did not make every notice a legal finding or a removal order.

The consultation report records 53 participants asking that the notice procedure cover all unlawful content, 26 seeking additional offences and 12 wanting the original list retained. In the Federal Council's new direction, users could flag any content they suspect is unlawful. The wider intake changes what providers would need to review; it does not establish that the reported content is illegal. The revised draft will have to show how the notice is assessed, what response is required and how the affected user can challenge a restriction.

The youth-protection changes also respond to consultation input. Providers of very large platforms and search engines would have to assess whether their services create or amplify risks for minors and take steps to reduce those risks. The Council also proposes barring profiling-based advertising to minors. The consultation report lists requests for age checks and parental controls as well, but the 14 October decision does not announce a general age-verification rule or a social-media ban for children.

The report's support figures sit alongside clear reservations. Among the 24 cantons that commented, 22 supported the draft, one was rather reserved and one rejected it. Of four platform and search providers that submitted views, Google Switzerland and Meta Platforms Ireland rejected the draft, Microsoft was rather opposed, and TikTok Switzerland took no position. The report says opponents raised freedom-of-expression and information concerns, legal uncertainty and proportionality. It also notes the risk that broad reporting channels could encourage over-blocking.

The proposal still targets very large services and has not been extended to smaller ones. Its practical effect will depend on details the government has not yet published: the meaning of suspected illegality, the handling deadline, appeals, reasons for decisions, risk criteria and oversight. Until the revised draft and parliamentary process arrive, Switzerland has announced a change in legislative direction, not a new moderation regime.

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