On October 10, 2023, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) announced that it would not launch formal proceedings after investigating Oracle America Inc., following a class action made in the US.  

Background to the decision 

The FDPIC analyzed the allegations that Oracle America had collected the data of five billion internet users and stored them in a database. The FDPIC's investigation focused on how Oracle America ensured that no information concerning persons residing in Switzerland was used for advertising purposes.  

Findings of the FDPIC 

After contacting Oracle America and Oracle Schweiz GmbH for clarifications, the FDPIC found that Oracle America credibly explained that: 

• it will not actively offer the data processing operations in question in Switzerland; 
• it has taken measures to technically prevent information about individuals in Switzerland from being used by advertising services;  
• it no longer offers its data broker services to actors providing data in Switzerland and that it has for years terminated all services providing data relating specifically to persons residing in Switzerland; 
• it technically prevented third-party data about individuals in Switzerland from being processed for advertising purposes and confirmed that Oracle America's advertising services did not involve processing information about individuals residing in Switzerland; and 
• it does not process information about people residing in Switzerland with either the Oracle ID Graph service or offline. 

Outcomes 

Based on the above information, the FDPIC concluded that there was no risk that Oracle America's tracking services mentioned in the US class action could lead to violations of personality rights in Switzerland. Therefore, the FDPIC terminated its investigations and decided not to launch formal proceedings.  

You can read the press release, available in multiple languages, here.