Three Taiwanese non-governmental organizations say they’re concerned that planned regulations for electronic IDs don’t do enough to protect citizens’ data. That was the word on Thursday from the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Open Culture Foundation, and the Judicial Reform Foundation.
The three NGOs say that current regulations governing the chips used in eIDs are not strict enough, and draft amendments don’t do enough to remedy this. The Cabinet decided in January to postpone the launch of eIDs until the government has passed special legislation addressing privacy concerns.
But despite this, the NGOs say the government is still pushing through older faulty amendments to national ID card regulations. Those amended measures will progress to the Legislature on Friday. That’s left the NGOs asking whether the government really is postponing the roll-out of eIDs after all.
The interior ministry says that the draft regulations still don’t have a start date, and the rules won’t come into effect until they do. It says government ministries are currently drafting the special legislation for eIDs. Once that legislation is ready, the government will review the regulations to make sure they comply with the law.