The Federal Council set a milestone in the history of free images in Switzerland on November 17. On that day, the government asked the parliament to accept the motion “Release of images of the Confederation on the Open Government Data Portal” in its entirety.
This means that images taken on behalf of the Confederation are to be made accessible. In the future, they will be accessible to all and usable free of charge. Wikimedia CH has made an active contribution to this motion. Please read our statement in the PDF attached below.
This motion was on the agenda of the National Council on December 18, 2021. Since a member of parliament from the SVP opposed it, the decision has been postponed to March 15, 2022. The motion was accepted with 139 votes pro and 52 votes contra. Learn more and see the statements on video here.
On 21 February 2023, there was a rebound. The Staatspolitische Kommission des Ständerates proposed to reject the motion by 8 votes to 4. Read more in the media release.
(published on 15 December, 2021,
updated on 20 December, 2021; 27 December, 2021; 22 March, 2022; 24 February 2023)
