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The E-ID can start: What you need to know

12.9.2024

Translation: machine translated

Following the approval of the National Council, the Council of States is now also satisfied with the E-ID law. Following the clarification of a few details, the e-ID can now be introduced.

Electronic proof of identity is in the starting blocks. This week, the Council of States voted in favour of the federal law and also the credit decision https://www.parlament.ch/centers/eparl/sessions/2024%20III/Tagesordnung%202024-09-10%20S%20DFI.pdf. Both results were clear: the Council approved the two bills by 43:1 and 44:1 votes respectively. The votes in the National Council achieved a similarly clear result.

Lessons learnt from the defeat

After the private e-ID solution was rejected in the 2021 referendum, things are looking much better for the state solution. Only minor details relating to data protection and cyber security still need to be clarified. The spokesperson for the responsible commission, Matthias Michel (FDP/ZG), attributes this to the fact that the main criticisms of the previous proposal were focussed on when drafting the bill.

The Council of States has adopted the draft legislation.
Source: parliament.ch

In parliament, there are still critical voices on the current bill, but only in isolated cases. Pirmin Schwander (SVP/SZ), for example, warned against the lack of trustworthiness of the security provisions and the storage of biometric data.

The majority take a different view. Federal Councillor and Head of the FDJP Beat Jans points out that all of Parliament's requirements are met and that data protection is paramount. For example, the detailed issues include facial image comparison on site at the issuing authority and the question of accessibility to the source code of the trust infrastructure. Open source was initially planned here, but is now up for debate as individual exponents still have concerns about data security.

The law is to have its own "federal wallet" for smartphones. This is intended to ensure secure storage. It should also ensure that only the data that is absolutely necessary is transmitted when the E-ID is presented.

Beat Jans assures that all council requirements are being met.
Source: ejpd.admin.ch

For example, if you buy a bottle of schnapps, you should only be asked to confirm that you are of legal age, without any further details. At a later date, it should also be possible to store the e-ID in wallets from other suppliers, provided they fulfil the Federal Council's regulations.

National Council regulates details

The bill will return to the National Council, which will resolve the aforementioned differences. The Federal Office of Information Technology and Telecommunications (FOITT) will then provide the infrastructure for the e-ID. It will be issued by the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) and there will be no central collection centre. The personal data that you have to provide in order to obtain an E-ID will only be stored on your smartphone. This is also to be ensured through regular checks.

The time will come in 2026. At that time, it should also be possible to identify yourself to the authorities in this way and order documents - such as extracts from the debt collection register, confirmation of residence and so on. The E-ID is free and voluntary.

You can go to a government office to obtain an E-ID, but you don't have to. It should be possible for you to download the app, take a photo of your physical ID and then take a selfie and upload it. Fedpol will then check the authenticity. Who will develop this technology - or where it will be purchased - is currently still open. <p

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Florian Bodoky

Editor

Florian.Bodoky@digitecgalaxus.ch

I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.

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