Joint controllership

Joint controllership describes a situation in which several actors decide together why and how personal data is processed. Swiss law focuses on the actual influence over purposes and essential means, not only contractual labels. Joint controllers should allocate responsibilities clearly, including transparency duties, handling of data subject requests, security measures and cross-border disclosures. The concept is particularly relevant for shared platforms, group companies, joint marketing, research collaborations and public-private projects. Processor relationships are different, because a processor acts on behalf of a controller.