Swiss voters agree with a slight difference to submit digital identifiers

Swiss voters have agreed slightly on a plan to introduce voluntary electronic identity cards.

With all the votes calculated, 50.4 % of those who voted yes to the proposal, while rejected it 49.6 %.

Near voting a surprise. Opinion polls have suggested up to 60 % supported digital identifiers, which also obtained the approval of the Swiss government, and both parliamentarians.

The second vote in Switzerland was on digital identity. A previous proposal was rejected in 2021, amid fears that the data will be held central, and will be largely controlled by private service providers.

The revised proposal on Sunday keeps the regime in the hands of the government. Data will only be stored on smartphones for individual users, and digital identifiers will be optional.

Citizens can continue to use the national identity card if they choose, which were standard for decades in Switzerland.

To reduce more concerns related to privacy, there will be no specific authority to obtain information about someone – such as proving age or nationality, for example – only able to check these specific details.

This comes after the UK government announced plans earlier this week to provide its own digital identity – which will be mandatory to work – as part of efforts to reduce the number of illegal immigrants who live and work in the country.

The proposed British digital identifier will have less uses than the Swiss version, but it still raises concerns about privacy and data security.

Supporters of the Swiss regime say it will make life much easier for everyone, allowing a set of bureaucratic procedures – from obtaining a phone contract to proving that you are old to buy a bottle of wine – on the Internet quickly.

Digital ID cards, who have collected enough signatures to force another referendum on this issue, argue that this procedure is still undermining individual privacy.

They also fear that although new restrictions on how to collect and store data, it can still be used to track people and for marketing purposes.

Switzerland has a long tradition in protecting the privacy of its citizens. Banking secrecy laws, which are now diluted, are now designed to protect the individual’s financial affairs from the eyes of the intrusive state.

For years, Google Street View was controversial in Switzerland – and even today, following a ruling issued by the Swiss Federal Court, the photos taken near schools, women’s shelters, hospitals, or prisons should be unclear before connecting to the Internet.