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Swiss voters back e-ID and abolish rental tax

swissinfo.ch

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Re: Swiss voters back e-ID and abolish rental tax

#2

Post by poszlem »

There’s nothing inherently wrong with e-ID, it can be mighty useful, especially when implemented thoughtfully. The real problem is when it’s imposed despite widespread societal opposition and refusal (which obviously is not the issue here, but is in other countries).

Re: Swiss voters back e-ID and abolish rental tax

#3

Post by Lukas_Skywalker »

poszlem wrote: post #2

There’s nothing inherently wrong with e-ID, it can be mighty useful, especially when implemented thoughtfully. The real problem is when it’s imposed despite widespread societal opposition and refusal (which obviously is not the issue here, but is in other countries).

I agree that it can be useful, but I fear that in the future, we will have many more online platforms that require an ID than we currently do.

In the past, things like age verification required users to upload a scan or photo, and someone had to verify it. Because that was too much work for the platform operators, they didn't do it (or only with the banner "Are you over 18?").

With the e-ID instead, this will be much simpler to implement. And I expect it to become much more widespread in the future.

Re: Swiss voters back e-ID and abolish rental tax

#5

Post by miohtama »

poszlem wrote: post #2

There’s nothing inherently wrong with e-ID, it can be mighty useful, especially when implemented thoughtfully. The real problem is when it’s imposed despite widespread societal opposition and refusal (which obviously is not the issue here, but is in other countries).

Indian Aadhaar has some examples discussed here

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41608810

Re: Swiss voters back e-ID and abolish rental tax

#7

Post by crimsoneer »

mrob wrote: post #4

Unlike the proposed UK digital ID (which is not a "card"), this one is optional. Nobody is being forced to buy a smartphone and accept Apple or Google's terms of service.

But the Swiss already have a unique digital identifier for everyone living and working in Switzerland (your AVS number I think?) so it's really not optional, and is the primary purpose of the new UK id. The actual application itself is much of a muchness.

Also, the UK gov has already said there will be solutions for old people/time travellers/the Amish etc without phones. Nobody is going to force anybody to buy a phone.

Re: Swiss voters back e-ID and abolish rental tax

#8

Post by pheggs »

mrob wrote: post #4

Unlike the proposed UK digital ID (which is not a "card"), this one is optional. Nobody is being forced to buy a smartphone and accept Apple or Google's terms of service.

Define optional? There will be new checks introduced online where you can only enter if you have an E-ID.

Companies do have to accept a physical card as well, but only if you appear physically at the companies doors. Otherwise, that statement was kind of deceptive in my opinion because there will be a lot of pressure to get one. They also decided to make it free, which shows they probably want to achieve a high adoption.

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