The government should hold a public hearing on the issuance of electronic identification cards (eIDs) and stipulate a specific law to regulate them before requiring people to replace their paper identification cards with them, the New Power Party (NPP) said yesterday.
The eIDs would combine the functions of an identification card with those of a Citizen Digital Certificate, the Ministry of the Interior has said.
The ministry was scheduled this month to allow residents in Hsinchu City to switch to eIDs as a trial before issuing them nationwide. However, the Hsinchu City Government halted the trial on the grounds that it needs to protect its residents’ information.
Photo: CNA
To dismiss public concerns over potential information security breaches, the ministry said that the government would only issue eIDs nationwide when it is fully prepared to handle security issues.
The mandate to switch to eIDs could be against the Constitution, New Power Party Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) told a media conference, adding that the policy would be executed on a weak legal basis.
Countries such as Estonia, Germany and Japan have specific laws covering the enforcement of their eID policies, but the ministry insisted on using the House Registration Act (戶籍法) as the basis for implementing such a policy, Chen said.
This shows that the ministry lacks awareness about information security and the legal implications that could arise after the policy is executed, Chen said, adding that the government should stipulate a specific law to regulate the use of data on eIDs and host a public hearing as soon as possible to compile opinions on the policy from all parties.
Discussions at the hearing should also be shared with the public, Chen added.
If the government insists on enforcing the policy, it should clearly inform the public of the risks of using eIDs, as well as ways of protecting themselves from information security breaches.
Chou Kuan-ju (周冠汝), who specializes in human rights issues in the digital age at the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, said that a specific law would prevent the government from frivolously collecting personal data using the eIDs.
An independent agency should also be established to thoroughly enforce the law, Chou said.
As people cannot choose to not switch to eIDs and have to bear the risks themselves, the ministry should re-evaluate the necessity of enforcing such a policy, respect people’s rights on how their data are used and give people the option of switching to a chipless identification card, Chou said.
Central Engraving and Printing Plant vice president Yu Jiu-sheng (喻家聲) said that its personnel and facilities received ISO-27001 and BS10012 certifications to prepare for the trial this month.
Chips that are to be implanted in the eIDs would be handled based on high standards set by the ministry, Yu said, adding that all chips delivered to the plant would be locked and data cannot be stored on them.
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