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In two of its decisions the Unfair Trading Commission has ruled on some fundamental questions concerning advertising using electronic media. In an administrative decision dated 21 November 2001 the Commission declared spamming not to be legitimate where messages are sent without proof of an existing customer relationship. It stated that such spamming, i.e. the unsolicited sending of advertising e-mails when a customer relationship does not exist, represents an inadmissible `aggressive marketing technique' as understood in no. 4 (4) of the Principles of the Commission, and so is not legitimate in...

The Swiss government is taking technical and sociological developments into account by extending the universal service. From 1 January 2003, all Swiss residents will be entitled to a digital connection as well as an analogue terminal as part of the universal service. The Bundesrat (Federal Council) has fixed a maximum price for the use of a digital connection. The upper price limits for national telephone calls have been reduced in view of recent price developments. The price of an analogue connection remains unchanged. The minimum quantity and features of public telephones (Publifone) have been...

The Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie, Kommunikation (Federal Department for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication - UVEK) has dismissed a complaint by the Helvetia Nostra organisation against the public service TV station SRG SSR idée suisse. It ruled that the broadcaster's refusal to report the presentation of a cantonal petition for a referendum was compatible with the freedom of expression protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In October 1997, Helvetia Nostra held a press conference, announcing that a petition entitled...

The Eidgenössische Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation (Federal Department for the Environment, Transport, Energy and CommunicationUVEK) has decided to allow Tamedia AG to take over Zurich local radio station Radio 24 and local TV channel TeleZüri, both of which belong to radio pioneer Roger Schawinski's Belcom Group. The UVEK recognises that the takeover constitutes another step towards media concentration, a trend which it regrets. However, since many regional and national media will continue to report independently and from different viewpoints about the city of Zurich,...

The Koordinationsgruppe Informationsgesellschaft (Information Society Coordination Group - KIG) has published its third annual report on the state of the Information Society in Switzerland. It reports that, in the last twelve months, significant progress has been made in e-government as well as in the development of a legal framework for e-commerce and digital signatures. Projects such as "e-Tax-Swiss", "Guichet Virtuel" and "e-Voting" have all played their part. Various smaller projects relating to electronic communication with the authorities were also launched. Through the adoption of proposals...