Legal notice in Switzerland and Germany: what a website legally needs.

01What a website legally needs: Switzerland and Germany at a glance

As of

14 November 2026

Switzerland

UWG, FADP, FMG, BehiG

Germany

DDG, GDPR, TDDDG, BFSG, BGB

The table shows the main obligations for a business website and an online store. The sections below explain each row.

Important for companies with customers in both countries: according to the FDPIC, a Swiss company can fall under the GDPR if it offers goods or services to people in the EU or monitors their behaviour [28]. And according to the European Consumer Centre Germany, German law generally applies to a store if it targets its offers at Germany [8]. Obligations from both columns can then apply.

02Legal notice in Switzerland: required details under the UWG

Law

Art. 3(1)(s) UWG

Who

anyone offering goods, works or services online

Content

identity, address, email

In Switzerland, the duty to provide a legal notice is set out in the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG). Anyone offering goods, works or services in electronic commerce must provide clear and complete information about their identity and contact address, including their email address [1]. The SME portal of SECO is more specific: company name as in the commercial register, postal address and email address. A contact form alone is not enough [13]. The UWG does not say where the details must appear. The SME portal names the legal notice as the place for them [14].

Many guides contradict each other on the phone number, and even the SME portal is not consistent. The law does not mention it [1]. On its page about the law, the SME portal only recommends a phone number [13]. Its practical page, by contrast, says the phone number and the UID, the Swiss business identification number, must be clearly visible. The reason it gives is trust, not a legal provision [14]. Our advice: include both if you have them.

A legal notice for a Swiss company can look like this:

• Muster AG (company name exactly as in the commercial register)
• Musterstrasse 1, 8000 Zürich, Switzerland
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: +41 44 000 00 00 (recommended)
• UID: CHE-000.000.000 (if you have one)

If you take orders online, the same provision adds three duties: point out the technical steps leading to a contract, let customers correct input errors before ordering, and confirm the order electronically without delay [1]. Anyone who intentionally breaches Art. 3 UWG can, upon complaint, face a custodial sentence of up to three years or a monetary penalty (Art. 23 UWG) [1].

03Legal notice in Germany under section 5 DDG

Law

section 5 of the German DDG

Who

commercial digital services

Fine

up to 50,000 euros

In Germany, the legal notice duty is set out in section 5 of the German Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, DDG), a national law separate from the EU’s Digital Services Act. It applies to commercial digital services that are usually offered for payment. The information must be easy to find, directly accessible and permanently available [2]. It includes:

• name and address, and for legal entities also legal form and authorised representatives,
• details that allow fast electronic contact and direct communication, including an email address,
• register and registration number, for example in the commercial register,
• VAT identification number or business identification number, if you have one,
• the supervisory authority for activities that require a licence, and details of the professional chamber for certain professions.

Anyone who intentionally or negligently fails to provide this information, or provides it incorrectly or incompletely, commits an administrative offence. The fine can be up to 50,000 euros (section 33 DDG) [15].

For Swiss companies with customers in Germany, our reading is this: if you include all the details from section 5 DDG, you also cover the Swiss minimum, because the UWG requires less [1][2]. Whether German law applies to your website depends on your offer. If in doubt, a qualified professional can clarify this.

04Privacy policy in Switzerland under the FADP

Law

Art. 19 FADP, in force since 1.9.2023

Minimum

identity, purpose, recipients

Fine

up to 250,000 francs if intentional

The revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP, in German DSG) has been in force since 1 September 2023 [3]. If you collect personal data, for example through a contact form, an order or a newsletter sign-up, you must inform the people concerned appropriately (Art. 19 FADP). The minimum is [3]:

• your identity and contact details,
• the purpose of the processing,
• where relevant, the recipients or categories of recipients, such as a payment provider or email tool,
• if data is disclosed abroad, the country and, where relevant, the safeguards.

The last point is a difference from the GDPR. According to the FDPIC, under the FADP you name the countries data goes to, even if they offer adequate data protection [16]. If you use services with servers in the USA or the EU, the country belongs in your privacy policy.

The duty does not apply, among other cases, if the person already has the information (Art. 20 FADP). Anyone who intentionally fails to inform can, upon complaint, be fined up to 250,000 francs (Art. 60 FADP). The fine is imposed on the responsible individual. The business pays it only in their place and only for amounts up to 50,000 francs (Art. 64 FADP). The FADP also applies to matters that have an effect in Switzerland, even if they originate abroad (Art. 3 FADP) [3].

05Privacy policy under the GDPR and when it affects Swiss companies

Law

Art. 13 GDPR

Swiss companies

when offering to people in the EU

Fine

up to 20 million euros or 4% of turnover

The GDPR requires more information than the Swiss FADP. Under Art. 13 GDPR, you state among other things [4]:

• name and contact details of the controller and, where applicable, the data protection officer,
• purposes and legal basis of each processing activity, and for legitimate interests the interest itself,
• recipients and any planned transfer to third countries,
• the storage period or the criteria for it,
• the rights of data subjects, the right to withdraw consent and the right to complain to a supervisory authority.

The GDPR only applies to Swiss companies in certain cases. Under Art. 3(2) GDPR it applies if you offer goods or services to people in the EU or monitor their behaviour in the EU [5]. According to the FDPIC, analysing data about website visitors from the EU can already count as monitoring [28]. In a 2018 document it still refers to today, the FDPIC gives the example of a Swiss company selling watches through an online store to people in France, Belgium and other EU countries. Signs of such an offer include using a language or currency of an EU country and mentioning customers in the EU [5].

According to the same document, anyone who falls under it must in principle appoint a representative in the EU in writing (Art. 27 GDPR). Breaches can lead to fines of up to 20 million euros or 4% of worldwide annual turnover [5]. In practice, this means stores with customers in both countries need a privacy policy that meets the FADP and the GDPR at the same time, with a section on recipient countries.

06Cookies and tracking: notice in Switzerland, consent in Germany

Switzerland

Art. 45c FMG

Germany

section 25 TDDDG

More detail

separate guide

In Switzerland, you may process data on visitors’ devices, for example with cookies, if you inform them about the processing and its purpose and point out that they can refuse it (Art. 45c of the Telecommunications Act, FMG) [9]. For special cases, such as high-risk profiling, the Swiss FADP requires consent to be explicit (Art. 6(7) FADP) [3]. In Germany, storing and reading information on a device requires consent based on clear and comprehensive information. For websites, the relevant exception is anything strictly necessary for a service the user has explicitly requested (section 25(2) TDDDG) [10].

What the banner must look like in both countries, which services need consent and how to set it up in Shopify is covered in our guide to the rules for cookies and tracking in both countries.

07Accessibility: BFSG in Germany, open situation in Switzerland

Germany

BFSG for services after 28 June 2025

Switzerland

ban on discrimination for private providers

Planned

Inclusion Act, item 26.029

In Germany, the Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) applies, among other things, to e-commerce services provided to consumers after 28 June 2025. This covers many online stores [12].

In Switzerland, the Disability Discrimination Act (BehiG) requires federal authorities to make their online services accessible to visually impaired people without added difficulty. For private providers offering services to the public, it contains a ban on discrimination, but no comparable duty for websites [11]. The National Council adopted the Inclusion Act, the indirect counter-proposal to the Inclusion Initiative, on 21 September 2026 [17]. As of 14 November 2026, the item is with the committee of the Council of States [18].

Who is affected, what an accessible site must do and how to test it yourself is covered in our guide to accessibility duties for online stores.

08Images and text: copyright and the right to one’s own image

Switzerland

URG, simple photos of objects protected too

Germany

section 72 UrhG, section 22 KUG

Rule

own images or a licence

You cannot simply put photos, texts and graphics from the internet on your website. In Switzerland, the author alone decides whether, when and how a work is used, including whether it is made available online (Art. 10 of the Copyright Act, URG). Since 1 April 2020, photographic reproductions of three-dimensional objects count as works even without individual character, such as a simple product photo. Their protection ends 50 years after they were made (Art. 2(3bis) and Art. 29 URG) [19].

In Germany, the Copyright Act protects not only photographic works but also simple photographs. The right generally expires 50 years after publication (section 72 UrhG) [20]. Images of people may only be distributed or shown publicly with their consent (section 22 of the Art Copyright Act, KUG) [21].

In practice, this means your own photos, images with a licence that allows use on websites, and written consent from the people in the pictures. That is the safe route in Switzerland too. For creator videos used in ads, usage rights belong in the contract, with duration and channels.

09Online stores: terms, withdrawal and the checkout

Switzerland

no statutory right of withdrawal

Germany

14 days, withdrawal button

Both

terms accessible before purchase

Switzerland. Swiss law gives online shoppers no right to withdraw from a purchase afterwards. You can grant it voluntarily and then set out in your terms that it applies, which deadlines apply and how it works [6]. Terms become part of the contract if buyers were referred to them before the purchase and could read and accept them [13]. Terms that put consumers at a significant and unjustified disadvantage are unfair (Art. 8 UWG) [1].

Germany. Consumers have a 14-day right of withdrawal for distance contracts, with exceptions such as goods made to the customer’s specifications (sections 312g and 355 BGB) [7][22]. Since 19 June 2026, a store needs a withdrawal function for this, as long as a right of withdrawal exists. It is clearly labelled “Vertrag widerrufen” (withdraw from contract) or with equally clear wording, and easy to reach for the whole period. A second step labelled “Widerruf bestätigen” (confirm withdrawal) or similar sends the withdrawal. The customer then receives an acknowledgement of receipt without delay [8][23]. According to the European Consumer Centre Germany, this also applies to foreign stores if German law applies to the contract [8].

Before the purchase, in Germany you state among other things the total price, shipping costs and your phone number and email address (Art. 246a section 1 EGBGB) [24]. The order button reads “zahlungspflichtig bestellen” (order with obligation to pay) or an equally clear wording (section 312j BGB) [25]. Customers must be able to retrieve and save your terms when the contract is concluded, and you confirm receipt of the order electronically without delay (section 312i BGB) [27]. What else a store needs, from payment methods to taxes, is in our guide to a store that sells.

10Tech: getting found in AI answers, and where our answer ends

Google

no additional requirements for AI features

More detail

separate guide

Law

a professional when unsure

This section also covers the technology behind visibility. Google sets no additional requirements for AI Overviews and AI Mode. A page only needs to be indexed and eligible for a snippet; Google does not ask for extra AI files or special structured data [26]. How ChatGPT and other services find their sources and what you can check is covered in our guide to visibility in ChatGPT and AI answers.

Honest limits. We summarised the obligations from the legal texts and official authority pages, as of 14 November 2026. This is not legal advice. It remains open when German law applies to a Swiss website; that depends on the individual case. Have your privacy policy and terms checked by a qualified professional, such as a lawyer specialising in IT law, especially if health data, children or profiling are involved. A complete legal notice, your own photos and a clean checkout are things you can handle yourself.

If you are planning a new website or store, the legal notice, privacy policy and cookie settings belong in the site plan from the start. That applies to websites and landing pages as much as to Shopify stores.