Swiss e-ID vote: ‘Digitalisation must serve citizens’ interests’

Will we soon have an identity card on our smartphone rather than a physical one? Two guests on our video debate programme Let’s Talk discuss the Digital Identity Law, which will be put to a public vote on September 28.

In the upcoming vote, Swiss citizens will decide the fate of an electronic identity (e-ID) law, after an initial draft failed. The proposed new e-ID would be optional, free and managed by the state.

Opponents believe that the technology could violate citizens’ privacy. “This e-ID law lays the foundation for the commercial use of the data in our passports,” says Jonas Sulzer in Let’s Talk. He is a cybersecurity student at the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and a member of the Swiss Digital Integrity Party.

But Green Party parliamentarian Gerhard Andrey believes that e-ID will give users more control over their data than physical identity cards. “Today, if you want to prove that you are over 18 to do an online transaction, you have to scan your identity card and reveal all the data it contains. With the e-ID, you will be able to show only that you are over 18,” he says.

You can find all the information ahead of the vote in our background explainer article:

Debate on security continues

In 2021 Swiss voters rejected an initial version of the e-ID, mainly because it would have been managed by private companies. The government is now proposing that it be managed entirely by the state. Sulzer says this is an improvement but believes the law still has flaws. 

He cites Article 23External link of the Digital Identity Law, which states that “the verifier may request the transmission of personal data contained in the e-ID if this is absolutely necessary to prevent fraud and identity theft”. “That could happen for every transaction and allow companies to request more data than is necessary,” he says. 

Andrey does not agree. He insists that the law protects everyone’s privacy. “This text goes further than the Data Protection Law. We identified all the loopholes in the first draft and improved the law to address them,” he says. Andrey was among those opposing the first draft of the Digital Identity Law. 

What do you think about the e-ID project? Have your say in our debate ahead of the vote:

All systems have weaknesses

Traditional systems are not perfect. The forged signatures scandalExternal link that hit headlines last year serves as a reminder of this. In October 2024, media revealed that commercial companies were suspected of having falsified thousands of signatures for popular initiatives.

“There are certainly vulnerabilities in all systems,” Sulzer admits. But, he points out, in the digital space it is easier to exploit flaws on a large scale, causing greater damage.

Andrey, on the other hand, thinks e-ID will make processes more secure, for example by facilitating introduction of online signature collection. He adds that the risk of cyberattacks is limited. “Data belonging to people who use e-ID will be stored on their own smartphones,” Andrey says. “It will not be centralised in a database. To steal data on a large scale, you would have to open every smartphone.” 

>> Gerhard Andrey believes that e-ID would improve the security of online procedures:

Swiss Abroad at the heart of the debate

Pietro Gerosa, a Swiss citizen living in the United States since 2017 who took part in Let’s Talk remotely, believes that e-ID would make his contacts with Swiss administrative authorities easier. “At the moment, depending on your request, you have to send a scan of your passport,” he explains on the programme. “A unique and secure means of identification from abroad would be welcome.”

Gerosa says it would also facilitate access to public services outside Swiss working hours, which would be an advantage given the time differences. 

Sulzer also thinks it is important to offer the Swiss Abroad better access to federal government services. “But we don’t need an e-ID for that. All we need is a login,” he says. He notes that the Swiss authorities already provide an authentication platform called AgovExternal link.   

“Of course, we don’t need an e-ID every day, like we do a passport or identity card,” Andrey agrees. But he says that to obtain a login for Agov, you have to go to a counter and show your identity card. “This is problematic for people who live abroad,” he says. 

The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) believes that e-ID would help make it easier for Swiss Abroad to exercise their political rights, by paving the way for the introduction of electronic voting. But the two guests in the debate do not agree with this.

“There’s certainly a problem with sending voting materials to the Swiss Abroad, who often don’t get them on time,” Sulzer admits. However, he believes that e-voting poses other problems. “From a scientific point of view, it’s difficult to prove the security of an e-voting system,” he says, and this is problematic because citizens must trust in democratic processes. 

Andrey shares Sulzer’s opinion on this point. He also adds that the introduction of e-ID will not help the development of electronic voting. “The two projects are not linked,” he says. 

Switzerland lags behind

When it comes to digitalisation, Switzerland is not among the top performers. The European Commission’s latest eGovernment ranking puts the Alpine country 31st out of 37. 

Swissinfo

Andrey puts this into perspective. “The Federal Office of Topography (Swisstopo) and the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) are particularly advanced in terms of digitalisation. But in other areas, we are indeed lagging behind.”

He sees e-ID as an important step that will help progress in digitalisation. 

“Digitalisation must serve the interests of citizens and our democracy,” says Sulzer. But he thinks the e-ID law doesn’t meet these conditions because it doesn’t provide sufficient protection against companies exploiting private data.

>> Is digitalisation inevitable? See what Jonas Sulzer thinks:

Text edited by Samuel Jaberg. Adapted from French by Julia Crawford/ts