Name Matching & Revision (Part 1)

Also this year in connection with the Name Matching numerous questions were asked by auditors. Next year it won't be different, which is why we start with a series of Know How articles about Name Matching. In this first article we will characterize the problem of Name Matching.

Here is the most important thing about the problem of name matching:

Name Matching is a so-called "ill-posed problem“. These are problems that do not have a single solution and do not adapt constantly (without jumps) to changing conditions. Read more: Well-posed problems

Name Matching is multidimensional. Whether two names are variants of the same name depends on different aspects. The most important aspects are the correspondence of individual name components (e.g. Markus and Marcus), assignability of the name components (e.g. names with two or three name components) and phonetic aspects. Read more: Phonetic name search

With name matching, you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want to consider many name variants, you have to accept many wrong ones. If you don't want too many wrong variants, you risk missing the right ones. Read more: Balanced Name Matching.

Data Protection Act

The Swiss Data Protection Act underwent a complete revision in 2020, and its new version took effect on September 1, 2023, along with the new Data Protection Ordinance (DPO). The revision itself is complete, but its practical application continues to evolve. The topic of AI is particularly relevant: On May 8, 2025, the FDPIC confirmed that the DPA is technology-neutral and applies directly to all AI applications. In practice, this means, among other things, that users must know whether they are interacting with AI (transparency requirement, Art. 19), and that a data protection impact assessment is mandatory in cases of high risk—such as profiling or facial recognition (Art. 22). The Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) is drafting a consultation document on AI regulation to be completed by the end of 2026. With this, Switzerland will implement the Council of Europe's AI Convention.

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