Data Protection Workshop 1 · Task 1

Data Protection Fundamentals

Build a shared understanding of the key concepts used in almost every data protection law
Learn the general theory first, then see how your own jurisdiction applies it
Basis for all following workshops of the 13-workshop data protection programme

Europe

Latin America

Asia-Pacific

Jurisdiction selected: Switzerland — Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP / nDSG), revised version in force since 1 September 2023

After this session you can

Tell personal, sensitive, pseudonymised and anonymised data apart
Explain processing and the roles of controller, processor and data subject
Name the core data protection principles and apply them to everyday work
Recognise data transfers to processors, other organisations and other countries
Describe the consequences of non-compliance for the organisation

Agenda

Personal data and anonymised data
Sensitive data
Processing and roles
The core principles
Lawful processing and consent
Data transfers
Consequences of non-compliance
Your jurisdiction at a glance
Check your understanding and next steps

Key Concept 1 — Personal Data

If you can tell who a piece of information is about, it is personal data.

Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person. The definition is deliberately broad, and it is the same idea in almost every data protection law.

What counts as personal data?

Direct identifiers: name, ID or passport number, photo, e-mail address with a name
Indirect identifiers: customer or employee number, phone number, licence plate, IP address, device ID, cookie ID
Information about a person: salary, performance reviews, purchase history, location data, opinions about the person
Combinations: job title + department + location can point to one person, even without a name
Not personal data: data about companies (e.g. a company's turnover), truly anonymous statistics, and in most laws data about deceased persons

Pseudonymised or anonymised?

Identifiable data: "Maria López, customer 4711, bought a laptop" — fully covered by the law
Pseudonymised data: "Customer 4711 bought a laptop" — the key to re-identify the person still exists somewhere, so it is still personal data. Pseudonymisation is a good security measure, not an exit from the law.
Anonymised data: "35% of customers in Lima bought a laptop" — nobody can identify the person with reasonable effort, so the data falls outside data protection law
Rule of thumb: anonymisation must be irreversible. Small groups, rare attributes or linkable data sets often allow re-identification.

Key Concept 2 — Sensitive Data

Some data can cause serious harm if misused — the law protects it more strictly.

Sensitive data (also called special categories of personal data) can lead to discrimination, exclusion or other serious harm. The categories differ between laws, so always check your local list.

What is typically sensitive

Health data, including sick notes, disabilities and vaccination status
Racial or ethnic origin, religious and political beliefs
Trade union membership, sexual life and orientation
Genetic and biometric data, e.g. fingerprints for time recording
Often treated with similar care: criminal records, financial data, national ID numbers and data about children

What this means in practice: stricter conditions such as explicit or written consent, stronger security, access only for those who need it, and in many laws a risk assessment before you start.

Sensitive data in your jurisdiction

Switzerland

Religious, philosophical, political or trade union views or activities
Health, the intimate sphere, racial or ethnic origin
Genetic data
Biometric data that identify a person
Data on administrative and criminal proceedings or sanctions
Data on social assistance measures

Sensitive personal data (Art. 5 FADP). Where consent is required, it must be explicit, and disclosing sensitive data to third parties needs a justification.

Key Concept 3 — Processing and Roles

Almost everything you do with personal data is processing — and someone is responsible for it.

Processing covers the whole lifecycle: collecting, recording, storing, using, sharing, changing and deleting data, whether on paper or in IT systems. Every processing activity has clear roles.

The roles

Controller: decides why and how personal data is processed, and is accountable for compliance. Example: your company for its own customer and employee data.
Processor: processes personal data on behalf of and on the instructions of the controller. Example: a payroll provider, a cloud or IT service provider. A written contract is needed.
Data subject: the person the data is about — customers, employees, applicants, suppliers' contacts, website visitors.
Joint controllers: two organisations that decide the purposes together, e.g. a joint marketing campaign. They must agree who does what.
Tip: the role depends on the activity, not on the company. A provider can be processor for your data and controller for its own.

Local terms and scope

Switzerland

Verantwortlicher (controller)
Auftragsbearbeiter (processor)
Betroffene Person (data subject)

The FADP protects natural persons only (no longer legal entities) and applies to processing that has an effect in Switzerland, even if it takes place abroad.

Key Concept 4 — The Core Principles

Seven principles that every processing activity must respect.

The names vary from law to law, but the ideas behind them are almost universal. The following workshops turn each principle into concrete measures.

The principles in plain words

Lawfulness, fairness and transparency: Have a legal basis, do not mislead people and tell them what you do with their data.
Purpose limitation: Collect data for clear purposes and do not reuse it for something incompatible.
Data minimisation: Collect only what you really need — no "just in case" fields.
Accuracy: Keep data correct and up to date; correct or delete wrong data.
Storage limitation: Keep data only as long as needed, then delete or anonymise it.
Security: Protect data against loss, theft and unauthorised access with technical and organisational measures.
Accountability: Be able to prove compliance: policies, records, assessments and evidence.

Principles as named in your law

Switzerland

Lawfulness
Good faith and proportionality
Purpose limitation and recognisable purpose
Accuracy
Data security
Deletion or anonymisation when no longer needed
Privacy by design and by default

Principle in Focus — Lawfulness

No processing without a reason that the law accepts.

Lawfulness means that every processing activity needs a legal basis or a justification. Laws differ most in this point: some are built on consent, others offer several equal legal bases.

Typical legal bases and valid consent

Consent of the data subject, e.g. for newsletters
Contract: data needed to deliver what the customer ordered or to employ someone
Legal obligation: e.g. tax, accounting and social security records
Vital interests: e.g. medical emergencies
Legitimate interests of the organisation, balanced against the rights of the person (not available in every law)

Valid consent is freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous — and it can be withdrawn at any time. Pre-ticked boxes and consent hidden in terms and conditions do not count.

Legal basis in your jurisdiction

Switzerland

No general requirement for a legal basis: processing is allowed if it follows the principles. A justification (consent, an overriding private or public interest, or the law) is only needed where processing breaches personality rights, e.g. against the person's express will.

Key Concept 5 — Data Transfers

Data that leave your organisation need a reason — and data that leave the country need protection.

Personal data rarely stay inside one system: they go to service providers, group companies, partners and authorities, and very often to servers abroad. Each of these flows has its own rules.

Three kinds of transfers

To a processor that works on your behalf, e.g. payroll provider, cloud or IT support: a written contract with instructions, confidentiality and security is required.
To another controller that uses the data for its own purposes, e.g. insurer, bank, group company or authority: needs its own legal basis, and the data subjects must be informed.
Across borders: the destination country must offer adequate protection, or safeguards such as contractual clauses or group rules must be in place, unless an exception applies.

Easy to overlook: remote access from abroad (e.g. support teams or a parent company) and cloud services hosted outside the country count as transfers, too.

Transfers in your jurisdiction

Switzerland

Disclosure abroad is allowed to countries the Federal Council lists as adequate (including the EU/EEA and the UK, and US companies certified under the Swiss-US Data Privacy Framework). Otherwise, safeguards are needed, e.g. standard contractual clauses recognised by the FDPIC (the EU SCCs with Swiss adaptations) or binding corporate rules, or an exception such as consent. Processors need a contract, and sub-processors require the controller's prior approval.

Key Concept 6 — Consequences of Non-Compliance

Fines are only one of the risks — trust is often the bigger loss.

Most enforcement cases start with something avoidable: a security gap, a missing legal basis, an unanswered request from a customer or a complaint from an employee.

Typical consequences

Fines by the data protection authority, often based on turnover or on a fixed unit
Orders from authorities: stop a processing activity, delete data, change a system — which can halt a business process overnight
Claims for damages by the affected people, in some countries also through class actions or consumer associations
Loss of trust of customers, employees and business partners, and negative press
Business impact: lost tenders, failed due diligence and stricter requirements from customers
Personal liability of managers and employees under some laws

Sanctions in your jurisdiction

Switzerland

Supervisory authority: Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC / EDÖB)

Criminal fines of up to CHF 250,000, imposed on the responsible individuals, not on the company
Investigations and binding orders by the FDPIC
Civil claims and reputational damage

Your Jurisdiction at a Glance — Switzerland

Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP / nDSG), revised version in force since 1 September 2023

Authority: Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC / EDÖB)

Requirements to remember

Switzerland

Data breach notification to the FDPIC as soon as possible if there is a high risk
Records of processing activities (companies with fewer than 250 employees are exempt unless the risk is high)
Data protection impact assessment for high-risk processing
Data protection advisor is optional

Where the programme covers them

Task 2 of this workshop: document Switzerland in the data protection scope document, together with sector rules and other countries you operate in
Workshop 2: governance, roles and the data protection officer
Workshop 3: records of processing activities
Workshop 8 and 9: risk assessment and security measures
Workshop 10: vendors, processors and international transfers
Workshop 11: data breaches and notification deadlines

Check Your Understanding and Next Steps

Can everyone in the project team answer these questions?

Expected result of Task 1: all project team members understand the key data protection terms and principles that the following workshops build on.

Quick check

An Excel export lists employee numbers and sick days, but no names. Is this personal data? Is it sensitive?
Your payroll provider calculates salaries for you. Controller or processor?
Marketing wants to keep all leads "forever, just in case". Which principles are affected?
A report shows "2 customers of our smallest branch complained". Is it anonymous?
Your CRM runs on a cloud service hosted in another country. Is this a transfer, and what do you need?
Which authority supervises you in Switzerland, and what is the maximum sanction?

Complete the task in ResGuard

Open Data Protection Workshop 1 in the Task Manager and select the task Data Protection Fundamentals
Attach evidence: participant list, these slides and the answers to the quick check
Record open questions as comments or new tasks with an owner
Set the task to completed
Next: Task 2 — Identify Applicable Data Protection Laws, starting with Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP / nDSG), revised version in force since 1 September 2023