DIDAS Submits its Position Paper re. the draft of E-ID Law

Consultation for BGEID

The Federal Council opened consultation for the Federal Law on Electronic Proof of Identity and Other Electronic Evidence (BGEID) on June 29, 2022.

As with previous discussion paper “Target Image E-ID” from 2021, our members have taken a close look at both the preliminary draft of the federal law and the explanatory report.  Our extensive commentary and observations has been submitted to Federal Council and the FDJP.

Summary of the Position Paper

The preliminary draft of the federal law contains the much needed legal foundations, which are formulated in a fairly open manner and is therefore considered by our members to be very good. We are convinced that the proposal for the e-ID law represents a solid basis and sets the framework for a promising trust infrastructure in which a state-issued e-ID represents the core element. We welcome the creation of a legal framework for this trust infrastructure.

In ecosystems of Verifiable Credentials, the state can thus assume the role of enabler and pursue the goal of creating an attractive environment for a wide range of applications. However, a viable ecosystem of Verifiable Credentials can only be successfully designed, piloted and implemented together with the issuers, verifiers and holders of  Verifiable Credentials.

We also recommend that the terms used in the ecosystem be defined uniformly and in line with international standards.

In the context of wider Verifiable Credentials, it is essential to define uniform standards as well as to allow for differences in sectoral governance in the ecosystem. For example, the same attributes should always be used for a residence confirmation, while additional attributes could be used in different sectors.

DIDAS looks forward to the next steps and recommends a priority treatment in the Federal Council. Furthermore, we recommend pushing for technical proof of concepts and minimal viable products (MVPs) involving all stakeholders and civil society in order to make the best use of the planned implementation timeline for the political decision.

The full version of our Position Paper is available at the following link.