Citizen 2.0

The new British government plans to scrap electronic ID cards

In a country where the identity card doesn’t exist, creating an electronic ID card was subject of debate. Pledging civil liberties and privacy, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stated that there "will be no ID card scheme", a project he had been fiercely fighting for several years. Clegg intends to scrap the eight-year-old identity card scheme within 100 days under the first piece of legislation introduced by the coalition Government.

German Minister writes an open letter to Facebook founder

German Consumer Protection Minister Ilse Aigner has written an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, expressing her concerns about Facebook’s plans to further relax data protection regulations on the social networking site. “Should Facebook not be willing to alter its business policy and eliminate the glaring shortcomings, I will feel obliged to terminate my membership,” writes Aigner, acknowledging thus the low level of influence of political leaders to impose their point of view to American editors.

Switzerland launches digital ID service

Since some days, Swiss citizens are able to get an USB key (or a smartcard) which will provide fast access to a secure digital identity to access online services and to sign documents electronically with legally binding signatures. Called « SuisseID », the program, launched under the lead of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, is the first standardised product for secure electronic proof of identity. Switzerland wishes thus to encourage the uptake of electronic business transactions and e-services. 17 million Swiss francs (around €12 million) will be used to subsidise SuisseID’s purchase price during its initial release for natural persons.