Ordinance on Information and Data Protection (InfoDV) - Information Offices (InfoDV)

1. Regarding the matters of the Government Council and its commissions, the Landammann or Frau Landammann, or the State Secretary or State Secretary, provides information.

2. Regarding the matters of a department, its head provides information. This task can be delegated to media officers.

1. The Executive Council appoints a Media Officer. He or she

a) plans and coordinates the official information provided by the Executive Council and administration;

b) advises and supports the Executive Council and administration in matters of information and communication;

c) establishes and maintains contacts with the media.

2. The Media Officers of the Departments

a) plan and coordinate the official information in their respective areas;

b) inform on behalf of the head of their department;

c) draft press releases and submit them to the Media Officer of the Executive Council;

d) facilitate contacts between offices and the media.

1. The Media Officer of the Executive Council issues press releases, possibly with additional documentation, regarding the proceedings of the Executive Council.

2. The head of a department may, after prior consultation with the Executive Council, hold press conferences. Press conferences that exceed the jurisdiction of a single department are decided by the Executive Council. The Media Officer of the Executive Council coordinates the schedules and sends out invitations.

3. Authorities should, where possible, consider the needs of the media when choosing the timing and format of official information.

1. The Official Gazette of the Canton of Solothurn serves as the publication medium for official announcements pursuant to the Ordinance on Official Publication Media (Publication Ordinance, PuV) of May 2, 2023.

2. ...

1. The application for accreditation must be submitted in writing to the State Chancellery.

2. The State Chancellery decides on the accreditation and its withdrawal; it maintains a register of accredited individuals.

3. The following services are offered to accredited media representatives

a) free delivery of all media releases, all messages, and drafts directed by the Executive Council to the Cantonal Council, as well as other documents intended for the media;

b) invitation to press conferences;

c) participation in the sessions of the Cantonal Council in the seating areas reserved for the media, provided that space is available; representatives of Solothurn media have priority.

1. If an official document is available with multiple authorities, the authority that comments on an access request is the one that created the document or received it from third parties.

1. The request for access to official documents can be made orally or in writing; the documents must be specified with sufficient precision. The authority may require the request to be in writing.

2. The authority that intends to charge a fee due to special effort (§ 40 para. 2 lit. a InfoDG) must inform the applicant in advance.

1. The authority shall in each case assess whether access must be restricted, postponed, or refused.

2. If there is doubt as to whether protected private interests are affected, the authority shall consult the affected persons.

1. Conflicting interests are preserved as far as possible through redaction.

2. If private interests cannot be preserved through redaction, the authority obtains the consent of the affected individuals; it informs them of their right to refuse.

3. The authority denies access to the official document if the affected individuals have not consented; this is subject to section 15, paragraphs 1 and 2, letters a - c, of the Information and Data Protection Act.

1. Access to official documents is generally granted by the competent authority during regular office hours. The authority ensures the security of the documents during the inspection.

2. Upon request, the authority provides a written justification of its position (§ 35 para. 2 InfoDG) when a written access request is submitted.

1. As a rule, official information is provided orally for verbal inquiries and in writing for written inquiries.

**1. Technical and Organizational Measures (§ 16 para. 1 lit. c InfoDG) are to be taken particularly against the following risks:**

a) Unauthorized or accidental destruction;

b) Accidental loss;

c) Technical errors;

d) Falsification, theft, unlawful use;

e) Unauthorized alteration, copying, access.

**2. The measures depend on the purpose, nature, and scope of data processing as well as the potential risks to the personal rights of affected individuals. They must conform to the state of the art and be periodically evaluated for their effectiveness and proportionality.**

1. The authority records the automated processing of particularly sensitive personal data and personality profiles when preventive measures do not ensure data protection, especially the purposeful use of the data.

2. The records must be made available to the Information and Data Protection Officer for one year.

1. The authority shall communicate the currency and completeness of the data at the time of disclosure, unless this information is apparent from the data themselves or the circumstances.

1. The population registry provides authorities with the information necessary for the fulfillment of their duties, either individually or systematically organized (collective information).

2. The population registry provides private individuals with the information mentioned in § 22 paragraph 1 of the InfoDG. A request for information regarding marital status or a collective information request (§ 22 para. 2 InfoDG) must be submitted in writing with justification; the information will be provided in writing.

1. The State Chancellery may publish resolutions of the government council as well as information that does not contain particularly sensitive personal data on the internet; the departments may publish information that does not contain particularly sensitive personal data on the internet.

1. The register shall contain the following information for each data collection

a) Name and address of the authority;

b) Name, purpose, and legal basis of the data collection;

c) Categories of affected individuals and processed personal data;

d) Categories of authorities and third parties to whom the data is reported without request or made accessible through a retrieval procedure;

e) Approximate number of affected individuals;

f) Categories of authorities and third parties authorized to enter and modify data.

2. The authority shall report each data collection before it is initiated, as well as any project for the automated processing of personal data, to the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC). The notification shall include the information specified in paragraph 1.

3. The authority shall provide the Information and Data Protection Commissioner with a complete copy of the register of its data collections annually on January 1st. It shall highlight the changes that occurred in the previous year.

1. The central register may be inspected by any person at the Office of the Commissioner for Information and Data Protection, the State Chancellery, and the district offices. The Commissioner for Information and Data Protection may publish the central register on the Internet.

1. The authority shall confirm the blockade in writing as soon as it has been implemented.

1. The Information and Data Protection Officer (IDSB) is administratively affiliated with the State Chancellery.

2. The Information and Data Protection Officer seeks the opinion of the Office for Informatics and Organization before recommending technical data protection measures for cantonal authorities.

1. The cantonal authorities shall submit to the Commissioner for Information and Data Protection all drafts of decrees and measures that are significant for access to official documents or data protection.

2. The cantonal authorities shall communicate to the Commissioner for Information and Data Protection their guidelines and, in anonymized form, their fundamental decisions in the area of access to official documents and data protection.

**1. The Officer for Information and Data Protection may request the following information from authorities, in particular:**

a) Technical and organizational measures that have been implemented or are planned;

b) Regulations concerning blocking, correction, anonymization, storage, retention, and destruction of data;

c) Configuration of IT resources;

d) Links with other data collections;

e) Nature and extent of access to data in retrieval procedures.

**2. For the purpose of conducting IT audits regarding data protection at cantonal authorities, the Officer for Information and Data Protection may involve the cantonal financial control.**

**3. The Officer for Information and Data Protection may recommend that authorities have a data protection audit carried out by external experts.**

**4. If the Officer for Information and Data Protection provides a recommendation to an authority, he or she shall inform its supervising authority about it.**

1. The authorities shall implement the necessary technical and organizational measures (§ 16 para. 1 lit. c Information Security Act; § 12 et seq. Information Security Ordinance) no later than two years after the entry into force of this regulation.

1. Repealed are

a) the Ordinance on Public Information by the Government Council and the Cantonal Administration of November 19, 1984;

b) the Ordinance on Access to Files and the Release of Files of the Cantonal Administration of February 25, 1975;

c) the Ordinance on Data Protection and Data Security in the Cantonal Administration of December 4, 1979;

d) § 15 of the Ordinance on the Processing of Personal Data of State Employees of November 20, 1990;

e) § 10 of the Instructions for the State Archives of August 11, 1992.

1. This ordinance shall come into force with the Information and Data Protection Act.

2. Subject to the right of objection of the Cantonal Council.