Who pays for Swiss lawful interception, and how is the total compensation split across the different types of measure?

The cantons collectively shoulder a flat 75 % of the Dienst ÜPF's costs; the total compensation paid to the obligated providers is capped at 6.3 million francs per calendar year, split by measure type — retroactive surveillance 50 %, real-time 20 %, simple Auskunft 20 %, Notsuche 5 %, complex Auskunft 5 %.

Surveillance is not free: the Dienst ÜPF runs infrastructure and the telecom providers incur real costs cooperating, so the cost-allocation ordinance (FV-ÜPF) sets out who pays. Two figures are worth holding onto.

Who bears the cost. The cantons pay a flat 75 % of the service's personnel and operating costs (the rest falls to the Confederation), with the canton share distributed by resident population unless they agree otherwise. This reflects that most surveillance serves cantonal police work.

The compensation cap and its split. The state reimburses providers for their effort, but the total is capped at 6.3 million CHF per year (reviewed by the EJPD at least every three years). That pot is divided by Auftragsart (type of mandate):

The split is a rough proxy for volume × effort: retroactive measures are both common and laborious (half the pot), while complex Auskünfte and Notsuchen are rare. Note the figures add to 100 %, and that the cost split (retroactive dominant) mirrors the usage statistics — retroactive surveillance is by far the most-used intrusive measure, with the Antennensuchlauf counted under it.

Tip: Cantons = 75 % of the bill; providers reimbursed from a 6.3 M cap, half of it for retroactive surveillance.

Go deeper:

• Dienst ÜPF — surveillance statistics (li.admin.ch) — the annual measure counts behind the cost split: retroactive and Antennensuchlauf dominate.