Detailed statistics 2024 on post and telecommunications surveillance

The Swiss prosecution authorities and the Federal intelligence service (FIS) may order post and telecommunications surveillance measures for the purpose of investigating serious criminal offences based on the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code and the Federal Intelligence Service Act. The PTSS is obliged to produce statistics on surveillance measures based on  Art. 16 para. 1 let. k of the Federal Act on Post and Telecommunications Surveillance (SPTA).

The number of surveillance measures has increased in 2024. Both real-time surveillance (+46%) and retrospective surveillance (+24%) have grown. The number of emergency searches in 2024 is also almost a fifth higher than in the previous year. The situation is different for tracing of persons, which have fallen slightly. The largest increase was in the number of antenna searches, which increased fivefold. The number of antenna search cases in 2024 also doubled compared to the previous year.

Note: The numbers presented by FIS and those by the PTSS are not comparable due to a different counting method.