Consent Management In Switzerland 8211 Necessity Or Best Practice
Management Summary
In addition to the significant innovations for Swiss companies resulting from the new data protection law, we show in this blog post how a consent management strategy can provide support far beyond the fulfillment of obligations.
Use of consent management platforms vs. simple cookie banners
In the first step, it is important to clearly define what we are talking about when we mean consent management solutions. A distinction must be made here between simple “cookie banners”, which simply provide information about the setting of cookies, and, in return, the use of consent management platforms, i.e. intelligent and automatable solutions that, in addition to playing out opt-in/opt-out layers, also enable the storage and management of consents and rejections. These technological solutions thus create the basis for professional data management in compliance with the new requirements of the DSG.
Innovations and tightenings due to the Swiss Data Protection Act
Looking at the Swiss data protection law, it should be emphasized that many elements that were discussed in the debate already exist: explicit consent in the event of high risk in the context of profiling (new DSG Art. 6 principles or Art. 31 justifications) or the obligation to provide information about the use of cookies (FMG).
The most important innovations compared to the old DSG include:
- an extended obligation to provide information
- the obligation to provide precise documentation
- Duty to provide information
- expanding the scope of the rights of data subjects
- Privacy by design & Privacy by default – appropriate precautions must be taken in the technology design
- Stricter sanctions (fines)
Covering these points now presents many companies with new challenges. This is exactly where a consent management platform comes in and facilitates the processes associated with the points mentioned above.
The core element of the solutions is, in addition to precise documentation, also the ability to provide information regarding stored consents or rejections. In order to enable users to make these decisions, these solutions are specialized in providing and providing all the necessary information about the technologies used.
Consent management platforms as a solution for new requirements
The effort required for such a tool is very manageable, both in terms of implementation resources and license costs. In many cases, the biggest hurdle seems to be defining an appropriate strategy in-house. We observe that many companies use simple “cookie banners” with the main idea being to protect themselves by complying more or less with the legal framework or to process what is specified.
Sensible consent management and the use of a professional solution can be more than that – it can be the opportunity to rethink and prepare data management in a future-proof way (especially with a view to the coming post cookie era) and at the same time can be an opportunity to build a trusting relationship with your customers across channels and brands.
To provide concrete support for the topic, we have put together an overview of consent management platforms (CMPs) for you in a white paper, which can provide guidance on the shortlist or selection of a suitable tool for your needs.
