Joint Statement | eID Ruling: Litigation Has Achieved Its Phased Objective

The preventive omission lawsuit regarding the New eID was initiated in 2020 to alleviate the dilemma where citizens who refuse to be forcibly issued a chip/digital ID card under the "comprehensive replacement" New eID policy would face the plight of being unable to vote once the announcement invalidating old ID cards takes effect. Today, the Taipei High Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit on procedural grounds, stating that it did not meet the requirements for a "preventive omission" action. Despite failing to meet procedural requirements, the court pointed out in the summary of reasons for the judgment in its press release: "The eID imposes a digital identification function capable of generating a massive amount of 'digital footprints' onto individuals, placing them in a state where they can be thoroughly profiled. This fundamentally alters the appearance of the current identification system and immensely impacts citizens' rights to informational self-determination and privacy." It further reached the concrete conclusion that forcing citizens to replace their eIDs based on the authorization of the Household Registration Act "evidently violates the principle of legal reservation."

Using preventive omission litigation as a type of legal action is quite rare in Taiwan and lacks major successful precedents concerning social public interest. Although we were unable to use this litigation to prevent Taiwan from implementing a mandatory replacement plan again in the future, several phased objectives were achieved during the course of the litigation. First, the Executive Yuan announced the suspension of the policy and promised to conduct legislative and related legal amendment operations. Subsequently, under related advocacy, the Ministry of the Interior also amended the contents concerning chip-based ID cards within the "Regulations Governing the Format, Content, Issuance, Photograph Image File Establishment, and Management of National Identity Cards and Household Registration Certificates."

Allowing everyone to choose a "chip-free ID card" based on their own needs should be the bottom line of the digital ID card policy. Taiwan has long suffered from indiscriminate linking and collection of personal data by public and private sectors, which should also be subject to strict scrutiny. Relevant restrictions on data collection and use must be enacted to implement the data minimization principle. Data breaches are visible harms, whereas the indiscriminate collection and abuse of data are difficult to detect. Only by comprehensively examining unreasonable scenarios of ID card verification and data collection/use—rather than replacing them with a fully digital approach—can Taiwan's existing problems be resolved. Just like the rampant withholding of identification documents for access control or showing ID information for discounts, if replaced by digital methods where tapping a card retrieves data or leaves a record, Taiwan still cannot escape an environment of indiscriminate data collection. Respecting individuals' choices to hold a chip-free ID card with minimal data according to their needs is essential to prevent digital development from degenerating into the risk of a real-name society. Surrendering autonomy and privacy is not the path a democratic society should take to consolidate itself.

Joint Statement

Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Judicial Reform Foundation

Press Contact

Taiwan Association for Human Rights Digital Rights Officer Chou Kuan-ju