The three revised implementing decrees to the Federal Act on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (SPTA) are due to come into force on 1 January 2024, as announced by the Federal Council in its press release on 15 November. Among other things, the possibilities for data surveillance of the Internet and telephone are to be expanded.
The aim of the revision is to avoid any gaps in surveillance that may arise due to rapid technological developments, such as in the area of 5G technology. It also aims to enable better localisation of telephone and internet data in order to continue to ensure effective law enforcement.
The revision concerns the Ordinance on the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (VÜPF), the Ordinance on the Processing System for the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (VVS-ÜPF) and the FDJP Ordinance on the Implementation of the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (VD-ÜPF).
New types of surveillance and information
Specifically, the Federal Council is introducing four types of surveillance and three types of information. Two of the new types of information relate to the retrieval of 5G technology identifiers, one of them in real time. Another type of information allows the identification of fake or unrecognised telephone numbers. For example, anonymous bomb threats can be traced. The newly introduced monitoring types were then introduced primarily for the purpose of more precise positioning in mobile communications in cases of emergency searches or real-time monitoring.
No decryption of chats
The obligation of telecommunications service providers to remove encryption was heavily criticised during the consultation process. As a result, the Federal Council is refraining for the time being from forcing providers of communication services such as WhatsApp and Signal to remove the encryption from chats when surveillance orders are issued. This means that “chat control” will not be part of the expansion of surveillance options for the time being.
Faster data delivery to authorities
The revision should also enable criminal proceedings authorities to obtain the data they require more quickly. In order to meet the needs of law enforcement authorities for shorter processing times for providers, the deadlines have therefore been adjusted in the VD-ÜPF.
Currently, a time limit of one working day applies to the processing of manually issued information. In practice, however, this was considered too long, especially when urgent identification requests were made at weekends or on public holidays. After the revision comes into force, this period will be reduced to 6 hours.