PPEU wiki

Protection of personal privacy and the security of personal data are inseparably tied to the integrity and freedom of the individual. The basic right to privacy and the protection of personal information are anchored in the 13th Article of the Swiss Constitution. All attempts of the state or third parties to curtail these rights must be critically questioned and explicitly contested. All organizational units, systems and methods, which the state can use in the observation and surveillance of its citizens must be subjected to continuous and strict evaluation and assessment by elected officials. Surveillance and data collection in the absence of reasonable cause are an unacceptable encroachment on the private sphere. The right to anonymity, contained in the Swiss Constitution, and the right of each individual to control the content and use of his personal data must be strengthened. The collection and use of especially critical data (biometrics, genetic testing, and the like), having a high potential for misuse, require particularly critical evaluation and control by independent agencies. In general, the parameters for protection of personal information must take into account the distinctive characteristics of digital data, that is, its longevity and uncontrolled distribution.

Surveillance and data collection must always be limited and controlled. Only in extreme emergency may the private sphere be encroached upon, even by governmental agencies. Judicial approval and control must always be present. Only democratically legitimized control mechanisms can effectively hinder abuse. At the same time, those affected must always be informed after the fact of any surveillance or data collection. If they have suffered any injury due to abuse of the measures, they must in every case be compensated.

The right of the individual to control the content and use of his personal data must be strengthened. Every citizen must have a functional and costfree opportunity to access, correct, block or delete personal data being stored in a central databank.

Anchor informational autonomy in the constitution. Conform letter, mail, and postal secrecy laws to the reality of the information society and expand them into a general communication secrecy law. End personal data collection, centralized storage of biometric data, on-line searching (police-trojans), real-time surveillance of private communication of a citizen and biometric IDs. Ban comprehensive videosurveillance in public places and require restrictive permits for private areas.