After the popular vote – the new E-ID will be issued by the federal government – News

  • The Federal Council has passed a message on the new federal law on electronic proof of identity.
  • The E-ID should be issued by the federal government. Use is voluntary and free of charge.
  • The app should also be accessible to people with disabilities without restrictions.

All people who have a Swiss identity card, a Swiss passport or a foreigner’s ID card issued by Switzerland should be able to apply for an e-ID. Based on feedback from the consultation, the Federal Council is proposing that the E-ID not only be issued online, but also in the passport office. The use of the E-ID is voluntary and free of charge.

It can be used both on the Internet – for example when ordering a criminal record certificate electronically – and in the physical world – for example in the store to prove your age when buying alcohol. All federal services for which the E-ID can be used will continue to be offered in an analogue format. At the same time, all Swiss authorities must accept the E-ID as valid proof of identity, provided that they allow electronic proof of identity in principle.

The federal government is responsible

The federal government should be responsible for issuing the E-ID and providing the infrastructure necessary for its operation. It provides the necessary app so that users can save their e-ID on their smartphone. The app should also be accessible to people with disabilities without restrictions. Contrary to what was stipulated in the consultation, it is not the cantons, but the federal government that will provide support for users.

The Federal Council further proposes that the state infrastructure created for the purpose of the e-ID also be available to cantonal and municipal authorities as well as private individuals (ecosystem). Documents such as confirmations of residence, company register extracts, diplomas, tickets or membership cards, which are now usually issued physically or at most as PDF documents, will in future also be able to be managed as digital evidence on the smartphone. In this way, the federal government is creating the basis for the digital transformation of Switzerland.

The question of data protection


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Data protection should be guaranteed firstly by the system itself (privacy by design), secondly by minimizing the necessary data flows (principle of data economy) and thirdly by storing the E-ID exclusively on the user’s smartphone (decentralized data storage). . In connection with data protection, the Federal Council is proposing a further measure based on the consultation results: In order to emphasize the principle of data economy, it should be made public if someone requests more e-ID data than is necessary in the specific case. In order to be able to react to technical and social developments, the law is formulated in a technology-neutral manner. Ultimately, the Swiss e-ID system should comply with international standards. This is intended to ensure that the E-ID can also be recognized and used abroad in the future.

Users of the future state-recognized E-ID should have the greatest possible control over their data (self-sovereign identity).

The Federal Council plans to offer the E-ID from 2026. In order to adhere to this schedule, the preparatory work for setting up the necessary infrastructure has already been initiated. In total, around 182 million francs will be required between 2023 and 2028 for the development and operation of the trust infrastructure, the issuance of the e-ID and the pilot projects.

Digital society wants to take a closer look


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For Martin Steiger, the federal government is on the right track with the new E-ID. Steiger is a lawyer for law in the digital space and spokesman for digital society. With her referendum she overthrew the previous E-ID at the ballot box.

In view of the cyber attacks on the federal administration, the exact implementation of the E-ID will be monitored critically, said Steiger: “Recently there have been serious incidents with IT security at the federal government and its services. It’s very important here to create transparency and take a close look.”

The digital society also fears over-identification. In other words, customers have to identify themselves too often – even where this wasn’t previously necessary: ​​”When we shop in the store, we don’t have to show ID as standard,” says Steiger. “But what are the rules of the game online and how are they enforced – especially against those responsible abroad?”

The operating costs from 2029 are estimated at around 25 million francs per year. A first e-ID law failed in the referendum on March 7, 2021. In contrast to the new template, it was intended that the E-ID would not be issued by the federal government, but by private individuals.

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