Prof. Wolfgang Wohlers has prepared an expert opinion on behalf of the Data Protection Commissioner of the Canton of Zurich on the question of whether the outsourcing of data processing is compatible with professional secrecy. The expert opinion was recently published in the digma Schriften zum Datenrecht published.
Prof. Wohlers comes to the conclusion that the disclosure of a fact subject to professional secrecy to an auxiliary person – who in turn may be a suitable perpetrator of a violation of the applicable secrecy provision – may already violate the secret. Without the consent of the owner of the secret, such disclosure is only permissible if (sic)
the disclosure of the secret to this person for the proper execution of the tasks to be performed by the primary holder of the secret. indispensable and this for the secret lord predictable is.
In the case of an infringement, justification by consent comes into question. However, consent is only effective if (sic)
the secret lord of the disclosure specifically at issue before disclosure in independent and in unambiguous manner has agreed.
It is not relevant whether the outsourcing takes place within Switzerland or abroad.
Prof. Wohlers also spoke about the expert opinion at a training event. A report on this can be found on the website of the Web Week.
The Zurich District Court has in a recently decided case However, a less restrictive stance was adopted.