Swiss E-ID Vote: 'Digitalisation Must Serve Citizens' Interests'

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Will we soon have an identity card on our smartphone rather than a physical one? Two guests on our video debate programme Let's Talk discuss the Digital Identity Law, which will be put to a public vote on September 28. This content was published on September 10, 2025 - 09:00 6 minutes

As a correspondent at the Federal Palace for SWI swissinfo, I report on federal politics for the Swiss Abroad. After studying at the Academy of Journalism and Media at the University of Neuchâtel, my career path initially took me to various regional media, working in the editorial offices of Journal du Jura, Canal 3 and Radio Jura bernois. Since 2015, I have been working in the multilingual editorial department of SWI swissinfo, where I continue to practise my profession with passion.

• More from this auth
• French Departme

• Deutsch de “Die E-ID gibt Auslandschweizern den Zugang zu Unterschriftensammlungen” Read more:“Die E-ID gibt Auslandschweizern den Zugang zu Unterschriftensammlungen
• Français fr ((La numérisation doit servir les intérêts des citoyennes et des citoyens)) Original Read more: ((La numérisation doit servir les intérêts des citoyennes et des citoyens)
• Italiano it “La digitalizzazione deve servire gli interessi della cittadinanza” Read more:“La digitalizzazione deve servire gli interessi della cittadinanza

In the upcoming vote, Swiss citizens will decide the fate of an electronic identity (e-ID) law, after an initial draft failed. The proposed new e-ID would be optional, free and managed by the state.

Opponents believe that the technology could violate citizens' privacy.“This e-ID law lays the foundation for the commercial use of the data in our passports,” says Jonas Sulzer in Let's Talk. He is a cybersecurity student at the Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and a member of the Swiss Digital Integrity Party.

But Green Party parliamentarian Gerhard Andrey believes that e-ID will give users more control over their data than physical identity cards.“Today, if you want to prove that you are over 18 to do an online transaction, you have to scan your identity card and reveal all the data it contains. With the e-ID, you will be able to show only that you are over 18,” he says.

You can find all the information ahead of the vote in our background explainer article:

More More Swiss Politics Swiss voters to decide – again – on introducing electronic ID

This content was published on Aug 15, 2025 A key step towards a digital society or a threat to data protection? On September 28, the Swiss will vote again on a new e-ID scheme.

Read more: Swiss voters to decide – again – on introducing electronic I

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