- Federal Council instructs FDJP to clarify Büpf revision: who carries out surveillance and regulate the use of Govware for undercover investigations.
- Revision of the Surveillance Ordinance specifies providers’ data delivery obligations in order to monitor mobile telephony and the Internet to investigate serious crimes.
- Cantonal adjustments and cooperation (Kobik, Schwyz) and BWIS revision strengthen preventive investigations and intelligence service powers to identify threats.
Interpellation Amherd (11.3862): Tightening of Internet surveillance
Done.
Submitted text
In view of the attack in Norway in July 2011, Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga has announced that she intends to tighten up surveillance of the Internet. This step is to be welcomed. However, in view of the Federal Council’s refusal so far to hold providers accountable in the fight against cybercrime, the dissemination of content glorifying violence, content harmful to minors, etc., I ask the Federal Council:
1. what exactly does the FDJP intend to do?
2. is he now prepared to tackle the tougher approach to Internet providers demanded in various parliamentary initiatives?
Statement of the Federal Council
1 As far as the possibilities for monitoring the Internet in pending criminal proceedings are concerned, several improvements are planned at various levels. At its meeting of 23 November 2011, the Federal Council instructed the FDJP to clearly define the circle of those who must conduct or permit and enable surveillance as part of the total revision of the Federal Act of 6 October 2000 on the Interception of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (Büpf; SR 780.1). The Federal Council has also instructed the FDJP to clarify the use of IT programs (government software, Govware) in the aforementioned revision so that the law enforcement authorities can also monitor encrypted data (e.g. encrypted e‑mails or Skype). However, the use of Govware should only be permissible for those criminal offenses mentioned in Article 286 paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO; SR 312.0), i.e., for the prosecution of which covert investigation is also permissible. At the aforementioned meeting, the Federal Council also adopted the revised Ordinance of 31 October 2001 on the Interception of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic (SR 780.11), which will enter into force on 1 January 2012. This revision takes account of technical developments and specifies which data telecommunications service providers must provide under the current Büpf so that the law enforcement authorities can monitor mobile telephony and the Internet in order to investigate serious crimes.
With regard to monitoring the Internet outside of criminal proceedings to prevent criminal acts, reference should be made to the existing or completed efforts of the cantons to adapt their police legislation to the need for preventive investigations, particularly on the Internet (e.g. in chat rooms, social networks or other forums). With regard to the activities of the Swiss Coordination Unit for Combating Internet Crime (Kobik), it should be noted that an agreement was concluded at the end of 2010 between Kobik, the Security Department of the Canton of Schwyz and the Federal Office of Police. At present, the modalities of the deployment of Kobik employees as undercover investigators to combat pedocrime on the Internet are governed by § 9d of the ordinance of 22 March 2000 of the Canton of Schwyz on the cantonal police (PolV; SRSZ 520.110). The employees of Kobik are subordinated to the cantonal police of Schwyz for these operations.
With regard to the identification of threats to internal security, the ongoing revision of the Federal Act of 21 March 1997 on Measures to Safeguard Internal Security (BWIS; SR 120) should be mentioned. From now on, the Federal Intelligence Service is to be granted the possibility of obtaining information on telecommunications connections from the Service for the Surveillance of Postal and Telecommunications Traffic in order to fulfil its intelligence tasks (cf. the supplementary message of 27 October 2010 on the amendment of the Federal Act on Measures to Safeguard Internal Security, “BWIS II reduced”, BBl 2010 7861).
2 The Federal Council has commented on the parliamentary motions in question. In this context, mention should also be made of the report entitled “Network Crime: Criminal Liability of Providers and the Confederation’s Powers in the Prosecution of Network Crimes” of February 2008. The Committees for Legal Affairs of the National Council and the Council of States took note of this report of the Federal Council on 6 November 2008 and 15 June 2009 respectively.