Is consent required to process personal data in Switzerland?
By Advisorn · updated on 25 October 2026 · Art. 6, 30-31 FADP, Art. 6-7 GDPR
In short
As a rule, no. The FADP does not require a legal basis for every processing: a processing is lawful if it respects the principles of the law (Art. 6 FADP), such as proportionality, good faith and transparency. Consent serves as a ground for justification when the processing breaches privacy (Art. 30-31 FADP), and it must be explicit for sensitive personal data and high-risk profiling (Art. 6 para. 7 FADP).
When consent is valid
Consent must be given voluntarily, for one or more specific processing operations and after adequate information (Art. 6 para. 6 FADP). Whoever asks for consent to everything, at the bottom of a contract, risks having no valid consent at all.
When privacy is breached
- if data is processed against the express will of the person (Art. 30 para. 2 let. b FADP);
- if sensitive personal data is disclosed to third parties (Art. 30 para. 2 let. c FADP);
- if the principles of the law are breached, for example by processing more data than needed.
The other grounds for justification
Besides consent, a breach of privacy is justified by an overriding private or public interest or by law (Art. 31 FADP). Among the possible interests the law names processing in direct connection with a contract and processing for purposes not related to specific persons, such as research or statistics.
FADP and GDPR compared
| FADP (Switzerland) | GDPR (EU) | |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | Processing is lawful if it respects the principles; a justification is needed only if privacy is breached | Every processing needs one of the six legal bases of Art. 6 |
| Role of consent | One of the grounds for justification | One of the legal bases, which can be withdrawn at any time (Art. 7) |
| Explicit consent | For sensitive personal data and high-risk profiling | For special categories of data (Art. 9 para. 2 let. a) |
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