15 November 2017 – During a 15 November 2017 press conference, the Federal Council stated the growing need to legislate on the topic of electronic identity and published the follow-up report on the consultation process which took place in early 2017 (documentation available here in German, French and, in part only, Italian).

As we already discussed (cf. news of 23 February 2017 available here, with further details on this topic), a preliminary draft of an envisaged e-ID Act was published on 22 February 2017, this publication triggering a consultation period that ended on 29 May 2017.

It appears from the review of the consultation findings that many actors are reluctant to see the federal government relinquishing its identity document provider duties to the private sector. Several key players, especially from the tech sector, do however back this approach. The consultation findings also show a growing discussion around the scope of use of personal data in the e-ID realm. Certain interest groups and cantons fear that the legal requirement of purpose limitation has so far not been properly addressed, while the security levels for the various types of personal data need to be defined further.

The Federal Council has now commissioned the Federal Department of Justice and Police to prepare a draft e-ID Act by summer 2018.