LiechtensteinDSG Datenschutzstelle Enforcement in Liechtenstein
DSG, LGBl. 2018 Nr. 272, enforcement provisions
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In force since 1 January 2019.
An enforcement supervision rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 2 September 2026.
What it requires
- Expect the Datenschutzstelle to have fining authority over your processing of personal data of a person in Liechtenstein, at a level reported to track the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Article 83 tiers, converted to Swiss francs.
- Expect a person who suffers damage from a DSG infringement to have a right to compensation from you as controller or processor, by analogy to GDPR Article 82.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
DSG Art. 41 (Unlawful gathering of personal data): a data subject may request the district court (Landgericht) to prosecute the unlawful gathering of personal data that was not freely available, punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment or a fine up to 360 daily rates. Art. 42 (Violation of data secrecy): deliberately giving access to, publishing or processing secret personal data by a person who had professional access to it is punishable, upon the data subject's request, by up to 6 months imprisonment or a fine up to 360 daily rates, rising to up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine up to 360 daily rates where committed for pecuniary advantage or to inflict considerable disadvantage on a person; this remains punishable after the end of the employment or educational relationship that gave access to the data.
Penalty structure
DSG Art. 40 ('Penal provisions', D. Penal provisions, Violations according to Regulation (EU) 2016/679), confirmed against the Datenschutzstelle's own official English translation: two tiers mirroring GDPR Art. 83(4)-(6): up to CHF 11,000,000 or 2% of total worldwide annual turnover (Art. 83(4) cases), and up to CHF 22,000,000 or 4% of total worldwide annual turnover (Art. 83(5)-(6) cases), whichever higher in each tier. Art. 40(7): authorities and other public bodies are not subject to any administrative fines. This confirms the file's prior unpinned summary figure (CHF 22 million / 4%), which had rested on secondary commentary; that read is now done and the figure matches.
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- 2 September 2026
- Currency
- CHF
- Fixed cap
- 22,000,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 4
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Datenschutzstelle (Data Protection Authority), Liechtenstein's independent supervisory authority under the DSG.
Enforcement record
Datenschutzstelle's own Tätigkeitsbericht 2024 (Activity Report 2024), section 5.2.1: in 2024 the DSS received 50 complaints in total (48 from private individuals directly, roughly 11% more than the prior year), and imposed fines (Geldbussen) totalling CHF 21,500 for 3 serious violations: two for failing to implement measures the DSS had already ordered by prior decision, and one for inadequate security measures leading to negligent disclosure of health data. The report also notes the DSS's own current staffing is insufficient for comprehensive ex-officio company audits, so investigations proceed mainly on tips or complaints; 8 organizations received cause-based investigations that year. actions_per_year is recorded as the 3 fine-imposing decisions rather than the 50 complaints received, since fines are the closer match to a public enforcement action; the complaint count is the broader intake figure.
- As of
- 2 September 2026
- Currency
- CHF
- Source link
- https://www.datenschutzstelle.li/download_file/view/ab510423-ec1a-4c29-8d0d-ed61d80893ec/299
- Fines per year
- 21,500
- Actions per year
- 3
What it reaches
Obligation class
Governance
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
The Datenschutzstelle enforces the DSG. One commentary source states violations may attract fines of up to 22 million Swiss francs or 4 percent of global annual turnover, a CHF-denominated figure tracking the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) EUR 20 million or 4 percent structure, since Liechtenstein uses the Swiss franc under its currency union with Switzerland rather than the euro; not independently confirmed against the DSG's own text.
By analogy to the GDPR Article 82 structure the DSG is modeled on, the DSG is expected to carry its own compensation provision for a data subject who suffers damage from a DSG infringement; the specific article number was not confirmed and this is recorded at medium confidence, by structural inference rather than a read of the provision itself. No Liechtenstein-specific collective-redress mechanism was identified.
When LexLint raises it
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Read the law
Secondary commentary, not independently confirmed against the DSG's own text
the compensation-provision finding is a structural inference from the DSG's GDPR-modeled design, not a primary-text read
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.