A man on his computer (illustration image). - Pixabay

Like a Twitter certification, the new digital identity card must make it possible to guarantee the identity of online surfers. This measure should be implemented from 2021, announced Christophe Castaner on Thursday. It will guarantee "data protection" and "user security", promised the Minister of the Interior on Thursday during a visit to the Lille Cybersecurity Forum.

“We have the objective that the digital identity card will be implemented (from 2021) (…) always with this concern for balance between data protection absolutely essential, and at the same time the best security for users, "said Christophe Castaner.

Private life or "simpler" life?

European legislation obliges France to offer this digital identity card for 2021. The State has been trying for a long time to concretize this digital sesame attesting to the identity of Internet users, with difficulty because it is a politically very subject sensitive. Defenders of privacy see this as a first step towards the society of general surveillance, with in particular the risk of traceability of all transactions made using this card.

But the state and the digital industry see it as a way to further extend public or private services available on the Internet, for the benefit of users and the economy. "Digital simplifies the life of all French people" in a number of areas, "it is normal for the state and the government to support this", underlined Christophe Castaner. As for fears about the surveillance company, they are "paradoxical", said the minister. "When it is the State which is at the helm, we are wary, whereas conversely with all the private operators (…) we give a whole series of data on private life without ever worrying about it" , he estimated.

Mandatory facial recognition

Asked also about the date of establishment of Alicem, a project of the Ministry of the Interior distinct from the digital identity card but which also aims to give a strong identification capacity to Internet users, Christophe Castaner replied that 'he' had no calendar '. "Our only subject" on Alicem, "is to experiment, test and then be operational in this balance" between the protection of citizen data and security of the device, he said.

Alicem is currently being tested with a small number of users. The application has caused controversy, because it requires the user to go through a facial recognition step when registering on the system. Once this registration step is completed, facial recognition is no longer required to use Alicem.

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