A heated discussion arose around the question of what an E-ID is. It cannot be answered in one sentence. For there are legal as well as practical aspects. And it is a question of international development. The one in Europe directly affects Switzerland. A referendum was held against the Federal Law on Electronic Identification Services (BGEID). The opponents speak of the “digital passport”, in reference to the red passport booklet. In this way, they emphasise that they see the issuing of the E-ID as a sovereign task of the state. But the story was first told by Swiss Post, which is now part of the Swiss Sign Group AG. On its website, it uses precisely this analogy in words and pictures: the “SuisseID” as the “digital passport”, illustrated with the Swiss passport booklet. The operation of the “SuisseID” will be discontinued at the end of 2021. It is considered the predecessor of the future Swiss e-ID. The analogy with the passport is now a thorn in the side of the supporters of the law. Even the term “ID card” is avoided as much as possible. They speak of a “universal login”. The term “login” is commonly understood to mean a combination of user name and password. But research into the classification of the E-ID also leads to a digital passport that has to do with Switzerland. Read the whole article by our guest author here.