Ministers grappling with the technical and political problems of electronic identity cards are looking with interest at the experience of a close continental neighbour. The government of Belgium expects to be the first to issue multipurpose national chip cards to all citizens and residents.
Unlike Britain, where residents will have to be 16 to qualify for the card, Belgians are eligible from birth. The Belgian government has begun issuing stylishly designed blue and green children's cards both as an identity and a child protection measure. The kids' card has three functions, says Joachim Van Eyck, project manager at the federal interior ministry.
Next of kin
First, it acts as an ID document. Second, it provides a way of contacting next of kin if the child gets lost or has an accident. Each card carries a phone number that connects to a cascade of numbers registered by the parents. If there is no answer, the call is transferred to a national child-protection hotline. This function was developed in the national outcry surrounding the case of the paedophile murderer Marc Dutroux, who was tried in 2004.
"The first 24 hours after a child's disappearance are the most important ones," Van Eyck says. "If you find a child, or find a card, this system means the parents or the police can be notified right away."
The card's third function is internet safety: from the age of six, children can receive a PIN allowing them to sign on to children-only online groups.
The children's card is part of a national programme to replace existing cards with multi-purpose electronic tokens. Some 6m electronic ID cards have been issued to Belgians; a similar card is being issued to 1.4 million foreigners. Local authorities issue the card, valid for five years, at a cost ranging from nothing to 35 euros (£24.30).
The e-ID has an embedded digital signature allowing citizens to bank online, as well as carry out e-government transactions such as filing tax returns. And since January, citizens of Brussels have been able to report crimes by plugging the ID in to a card reader.
Van Eyck says that far from oppressing citizens, the card puts them in control of their information. At the European ministerial e-government conference in Lisbon last month, he demonstrated a service called Myfile, which allows card-holders to check information held on them in the national register. "You cannot change your data yourself but you have a direct link to the municipality to send in corrections," Van Eyck says.
Absent biometrics
In her speech at the event, Gillian Merron, Britain's minister for e-government, nodded approval to the Belgian project and to that of Austria, another ID card pioneer. "I very much welcome the work done by Austria and Belgium on identity cards." However Van Eyk notes that the Belgian scheme differs from Britain's in one big respect - the card has no biometric component. "Too risky," he says.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Michael Cross
Quelle/Source: Guardian Unlimited, 04.10.2007
