Switzerland Approves Digital ID In Narrow Vote, UK Proposes One Too (theguardian.com)
- Reference: 0179573588
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/09/28/2156240/switzerland-approves-digital-id-in-narrow-vote-uk-proposes-one-too
- Source link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/28/swiss-voters-back-electronic-identity-cards-in-close-vote
> In a referendum on Sunday, 50.4% of voters supported an electronic ID card, while 49.6% were against, confounding pollsters who had forecast stronger support for the "yes" vote. Turnout was 49.55%, higher than expected... [V]oters rejected an earlier version of the e-ID in 2021, largely over objections to the role of private companies in the system. In response to these concerns, the Swiss state will now provide the e-ID, which will be optional and free of charge... To ensure security the e-ID is linked to a single smartphone, users will have to get a new e-ID if they change their device... An ID card containing biometric data — fingerprints — will be available from the end of next year.
>
> Critics of the e-ID scheme raised data protection concerns and said it opened the door to mass surveillance. They also fear the voluntary scheme will become mandatory and disadvantage people without smartphones. The referendum was called after a coalition of rightwing and data-privacy parties collected more than 50,000 signatures against e-ID cards, triggering the vote.
"To further ease privacy concerns, a particular authority seeking information on a person — such as proof of age or nationality, for example — will only be able to check for those specific details," [2]notes the BBC :
> Supporters of the Swiss system say it will make life much easier for everyone, allowing a range of bureaucratic procedures — from getting a telephone contract to proving you are old enough to buy a bottle of wine — to happen quickly online. Opponents of digital ID cards, who gathered enough signatures to force another referendum on the issue, argue that the measure could still undermine individual privacy. They also fear that, despite the new restrictions on how data is collected and stored, it could still be used to track people and for marketing purposes.
The BBC adds that the UK government also announced plans earlier this week to introduce its own digital ID, "which would be mandatory for employment. The proposed British digital ID would have fewer intended uses than the Swiss version, but has still raised concerns about privacy and data security."
[3]The Guardian reports :
> The referendum came soon after the UK government [4]announced plans for a digital ID card , which would sit in the digital wallets of smartphones, using state-of-the-art encryption. More than [5]1.6 million people have signed a petition opposing e-ID cards , which would be mandatory for people working in the UK by 2029.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [6]schwit1 for sharing the news.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/28/swiss-voters-back-electronic-identity-cards-in-close-vote
[2] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdr624j16jpo
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/28/swiss-voters-back-electronic-identity-cards-in-close-vote
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/26/keir-starmer-digital-id-cards-enormous-opportunity-uk
[5] https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/27/petition-opposing-starmer-plan-digital-id-cards
[6] https://www.slashdot.org/~schwit1
mandatory for employment (Score:2)
You are required to have documentation to work in the US and everyone just ignores it. So does it really matter. Digital buy it on the street corner ID.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah... if it's still an ID card in your pocket, that can still be faked, and that's not really a "Digital ID".
If it was just a thumbprint scanned at the liquor store, that went to the states ID database to verify my age, that would make it a Digital ID.
Or, maybe take it further... like in 'Gattaca'.
Re: (Score:3)
Didn't read close enough... tying it to your phone (not entirely sure how deeply they're talking) is crap. What if the unreplaceable battery dies, or the phone is broken, or stolen? Oh... get a new e-ID... so, now, you'll have to bring your official ID card, birth certificate, your grandparent's headstone, the number outside your house, two dozen bank statements, all to someplace that's 100-miles away... and, now, it's tied to your new temp phone (like Cricket) while you wait for the replacement from ATT.
So, in other words... (Score:3)
> The BBC adds that the UK government also announced plans earlier this week to introduce its own digital ID, "which would be mandatory for employment. The proposed British digital ID would have fewer intended uses than the Swiss version, but has still raised concerns about privacy and data security." The Guardian reports: The referendum came soon after the UK government announced plans for a digital ID card, which would sit in the digital wallets of smartphones...
In the UK, you won't be able to be an employable adult citizen unless you own a smartphone. Hoo-fucking-ray. And for Android users, does "digital wallet" meant that users must have Google services installed and running? If so, then I'm really glad I'm not a Brit. I have a de-Googled phone, and if I had a choice between putting G-Crap on it and sticking a pencil in my eye, I'd probably have to flip a coin.
I am getting so sick and fucking tired of governments - which are supposed to have their citizens' best interests at heart - cucking themselves and, by extension, their constituents, to the broligarchs. I'm starting to think it's time to burn this whole fucker we call modern civilization to the ground and start again.
/rant
Re: (Score:3)
> In the UK, you won't be able to be an employable adult citizen unless you own a smartphone. Hoo-fucking-ray. And for Android users, does "digital wallet" meant that users must have Google services installed and running? If so, then I'm really glad I'm not a Brit. I have a de-Googled phone, and if I had a choice between putting G-Crap on it and sticking a pencil in my eye, I'd probably have to flip a coin.
> I am getting so sick and fucking tired of governments - which are supposed to have their citizens' best interests at heart - cucking themselves and, by extension, their constituents, to the broligarchs. I'm starting to think it's time to burn this whole fucker we call modern civilization to the ground and start again.
> /rant
Why rant when you could inform yourself and be less angry as a result? Right from the UK's digital ID page:
In designing the digital ID scheme, the government will ensure that it works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone, with inclusion at the heart of its design.
I feel like the biggest problem in the world is not governments schemes but citizen ignorance. It's how we get knee-jerk responses like yours, ones that would likely lead to an uninformed vote for another party (whose policies I'm s
Re: (Score:2)
Oh.
So you BELIEVE the government.
How nice for you.
Re: (Score:2)
> Why rant when you could inform yourself and be less angry as a result? Right from the UK's digital ID page: In designing the digital ID scheme, the government will ensure that it works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone, with inclusion at the heart of its design.
> I feel like the biggest problem in the world is not governments schemes but citizen ignorance. It's how we get knee-jerk responses like yours, ones that would likely lead to an uninformed vote for another party (whose policies I'm sure you looked up with the same level of detail).
Fair enough - you're right, and I should have checked. My bad.
That said, there are plenty of examples of governments being co-opted by corporations, and making false promises to their citizens. So as 'registrations_suck' implied in his own reply to your comment, some skepticism toward government assurances is definitely in order.
Re: (Score:2)
We're talking about the UK. Trusting the government is a much more reasonable position to take when your officials and judges aren't political appointees, when public health advice comes from real doctors, when policing by consent actually means something, when the idea of sending the army to round up immigrants is unthinkable and when award-winning dramas are made about government injustices. We know our government is far from perfect, but we still have a little faith in the people who actually run things
Re: (Score:2)
Wow, "with inclusion at the heart of its design". It is an inclusive ID as well.
What does the digital part even do ? (Score:1)
Government already has me filed in their database. I already have an ID number. This is required to work already.
What does having a card stored on a e-Wallet change vs my plastic card no one asks for or uses ?
I also don't get the whole "Scare" around digital IDs. Again : Government already has me filed in their database, what does it even change ? If they want me persona non-grata, they can freeze my bank accounts, seize my property and jail me anytime they like, Digital ID or not.
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People are "scared" because this is the end of anonymity on the internet and that was its strongest feature.
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This has nothing to do with the Internet though. What the fuck do you even mean. No website is going to ask you to NFC in your e-Wallet on your iPhone.
This is basically a digital version of your Social Security card.
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I'm pretty sure the UK's Online Safety Act would love the upgrade. Especially since right now they have to depend on AI getting confused by video game characters in GMod, or rely on people having lines of credit. (I.e. A real credit card, not the debit card your bank gives you.)
Re: (Score:2)
> Government already has me filed in their database. I already have an ID number. This is required to work already.
> What does having a card stored on a e-Wallet change vs my plastic card no one asks for or uses ?
the devil will be in the details. along with your id there can be other data elements like your income statement, criminal record, address, properties, maybe even medical data. while this can be convenient for public/private transactions or bureaucracy, digitally concentrating such amount of private information requires you to trust that you government a) is competent enough to keep it safe at all times and b) will be always well behaving and not abuse it. i for one would trust neither.
> If they want me persona non-grata, they can freeze my bank accounts, seize my property and jail me anytime they like, Digital ID or not.
this has already happ
Re: (Score:2)
Dude, Government already has my income data (I file every year), along with my criminal record if I have one, along with my medical data (I'm not in the US) and about everything else about my life.
Giving me a digital version of my Social Security card doesn't magically change anything.
> this has already happened in the eu
Hence no reason to be scared about Digital ID per se, they can already disappear you and make you homeless at the snap of a finger. The Digital ID changes nothing. It's basically a hug
InvalID (Score:1)
They can revoke your ID anytime, make it invalid. Like during covid in UK there was proposal that eID will only be valid if you have vaccination certificate. Never agree to this
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We don't have Digital ID and I already couldn't shop at Walmart during COVID because I'm unvacinnated for it.
What does the eID change here ?
Redundant tech (Score:1)
Surely Big Brother can already easily obtain biometric data for everyone. I mean you need to submit a photo to get a passport or get a photo taken for a driver's license. So they already have enough for their Minority Report facial recognition cameras.
Re: (Score:2)
The point is to check if you've jumped high enough when the government told you to, and punish you if you haven't. If they actually need your DNA, fingerprints, iris scan, etc. for whatever reason they can get it regardless.
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techno-feudalist billionaires yea right! More likely big government control freak socialist.
Missing the point here (Score:2)
There are many laws, checks and balances with existing identification, payment systems, govt issued identification, medical id and information, etc.
The main item here is that a new government issued digital id lets a whole new set of laws be written, privacy laws be written, information sharing laws, and how different public, government and private entities interact, collect, sell, trade or share data.
There is a lot of people wanting to use their influence to rewrite the laws to favor them.
There are a lot o
800 million id and biometric stolen india (Score:2)
In early 2018, Indian government's identification database Aadhaar (similar to SSN) was reported to be leaking information on every registered Indian citizens[10] including names, bank details and other private information like biometric data.[11] Managed by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Aadhar is a unique identification number obtained by over 1.1 billion[12][13] residents or passport holders of India based on their biometric and demographic data.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
The que
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_breaches_in_India