Detailed statistics 2025 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).

In 2025, around 40 percent more surveillance measures were ordered than in the previous year. This considerable increase is primarily due to the fact that significantly more antenna searches were carried out. If the latter are disregarded, it can be seen that, following the strong growth in the previous year, the number of surveillance measures is only slightly above the 2024 level.

Real-time surveillance is slightly above the previous year's level (+3%), while retrospective surveillance has grown by 6%. The number of emergency searches in 2025 are also +5% above the previous year's level. The situation is different for manhunts, which have fallen sharply (-51%).

The sharpest increase concerns antenna searches, the number of which has risen significantly compared to the previous year (+69%). The number of cases in 2025 is almost 23% higher than in the previous year.

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