Swiss digital ID chief highlights need for more time to decide tech and cost details
The politician leading on the establishment of a federal digital ID system for Switzerland has said that government authorities “need more time” to process technology and cost considerations before confirming details of its implementation.
The federal government of the mountainous European country, which has a population of about nine million, is looking to launch a state-recognised electronic credentials (e-ID) system in 2026. Lawmakers have been forced to revise their plans over the past three years after citizens overwhelmingly rejected an eID Act in a referendum in March 2021.
Federal councillor Beat Jans, who is sponsor (lead) of Switzerland’s e-ID project, set out the government’s latest thinking on 18 June, saying in a speech in Zurich that he planned to propose “initial technical implementation” details of the e-ID and its “trust infrastructure” to the Federal Council “before the end of this year”.
Jans, who is head of the Federal Department for Justice and Police (FDJP), delivered the opening address at the ‘Digital Identity unConference Europe 2024’. He described “the decision on technology” as “the elephant in the room”.
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Law ‘neutral’ on tech options
In order for the e-ID to launch, Switzerland needs to successfully establish its legal basis.
“Switzerland does not yet have a legal basis for an electronic identity,” Jans reminded the audience in his speech. “The first law has been rejected in 2021 via a referendum at the ballot. A new version is in deliberation in the parliament. As a matter of fact, the National Council [lower house] has already approved it and it is now debated in the Council of States [upper house].”
“The law defines the main functionalities of the e-ID and the architecture of the required trust infrastructure,” he continued. “However, it does not prescribe specific DID [decentalised identifiers] methods, VC [verifiable credential] formats, cryptography or communication protocols. The law is (as we like to call it) ‘neutral’ towards technologies.
“From a lawmaking point of view, this abstract approach makes a lot of sense, since the law will not need to be adapted because of incremental technological progress. But for you [event audience], the people who actually code the whole thing, the law alone is not very helpful. You need specific requirements.”
In respect of the technical consultation (which took the form of what Swiss authorities refer to as an ‘informal’ consultation), he said that the Federal Council had “taken note of the results” and that he had “informed my colleagues on how we plan to move forward in terms of technical implementation”.
“But let me be clear: a decision has not been taken yet,” he continued.
‘Things are complicated’
He acknowledged there was frustration with some of the lack of progress on technology, admitting that “ideally, the decision would have been taken a long time ago”.
But things are complicated, he said. “I would like to ask you for some comprehension of our task as well.W
He gave reasons why things were taking longer than those pushing for a digital ID system would like.
First, he pointed out that the government “has to spend taxpayers’ money carefully and rightly so”. Additionally, “new approaches keep popping up” for how to implement a digital ID, describing the field of verifiable credentials as “young and dynamic”.
He gave two examples: the European Union (EU)’s eIDAS 2.0 regulation (“the implementing acts – the fine print – are not yet available and give ground for quite some speculation); and “technical innovations such as the concept of parallel signatures, allowing issuers to combine conventional as well as privacy preserving cryptography,”, which he described as “attractive in theory” but that, “on the other hand, the maturity of these concepts needs to be assessed more thoroughly.”
“For these reasons, we are not yet ready to decide on the initial implementation of the e-ID and its trust infrastructure,” he said. “We take this decision seriously and need more time.”
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Jans also gave an update on a pilot project launched earlier this year in one of the smallest of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, where electronic provisional driving licences have been issued as a ‘verifiable credential’.
“With this project, we have for the first time the opportunity to test ‘in the wild’ concepts and technologies that will later be used for the e-ID,” Jans said. “This pilot project can already be considered a success. Soon 1,000 credentials will be issued. There are hardly any support cases. This does not mean that everything is perfect: we still need to improve our communication. However, based on these real-life experiences, we will be able to improve the e-ID before it even exists.”
Multi-authority initiative
More than 80 people from various disciplines are currently working on the development of the e-ID and the trust infrastructure required for its operation. An ‘e-ID Project Organisation’ is headed by Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) director Michael Schöll.
Authorities involved include: the FOJ, which is responsible for the legislation and commissioning the trust infrastructure; Digital Public Services Switzerland (DPSS); the Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT); the Federal Department of Finance; the Federal Office of Police, which would issue the e-ID; and the Federal Chancellery, which would issues the e-ID for federal employees.
On 28 June the Council of States’ legal affairs committee issued a press release (DE, FR and IT languages only) stating that its members had ‘sharpened the cornerstones’ of the e-ID plans during a two-day meeting in Bern.
It stated that the committee had adopted (by nine votes to one) the ‘Federal Act on Electronic Proof of Identity and Other Electronic Evidence’.
A ‘technical roadmap’ for the Swiss e-ID and trust infrastructure was published last month on the developer platform GitHub.
This story was originally published on GGF’s sister title Global Government Fintech: Swiss e-ID launch: ‘more time needed’ to decide tech and cost details
About Ian Hall
Ian is Global Government Finance editor. He has formerly held roles including UK director of Euractiv (2011-2018), editor of Public Affairs News (2007-2011) and news editor of PR Week (2000-2007). He was shortlisted for ‘Editor of the Year’ at the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) Awards in 2010. He began his career in the Balkans at English-language weekly the Sofia Echo (Bulgaria: 1998-1999).
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