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Android only? I’m sure it’ll get an iOS version too, but what about people who don’t have smartphones? In Denmark we’re seeing more and more public services mov

by moksly 7y ago

Android only? I’m sure it’ll get an iOS version too, but what about people who don’t have smartphones? In Denmark we’re seeing more and more public services move to Apps. It used to be that there was an offline version, like in the case of our “NemID”, but now we’re talking about digital only drivers licenses and social security cards. The private sector had long embraced mobile apps, and it’s really hard to buy tickets, do banking and so on without a smartphone, but now we’re truly locking people into their mobile devices. And these devices aren’t free, I mean, it’s not just going to be “Android” only, it’s going to be “google play” or “Apple store” only. I’m not sure that’s very democratic. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll absolutely use these things and I currently use most of the available ones with great satisfaction, but it does concern me if we’re locking public services into privately owned ecosystems.

aclelland 7y ago
The lack of iOS support may be due to the way Apple restricts the use of NFC on iOS devices[1]. This seems to be changing in iOS 13 though. [1] https://gototags.com/blog/apple-expands-nfc-on-iphone-in-ios-13/ https://gototags.com/blog/apple-expands-nfc-on-iphone-in-ios...
LeYaude 7y ago
The information at [1] (in French) clearly states that alternative methods remain available. Here is the translation of an excerpt: "Creating an Alicem account is not mandatory. Users remain free of using available alternatives: - account creation on the specific service [Translator's note: this identification method is destined at the national SSO that is only one way of logging in the various public services] - other electronic identification methods on FranceConnect [Translator's note: FranceConnect is the name of this SSO. This includes at least fiscal number + password and social security number + password and maybe other methods] - traditional physical administrative procedures" I am not necessarily a fan of this identification method and for myself I consider it less secure than a sufficiently strong, properly stored and regularly updates password. Still, the argument of locking the users or making the smartphone mandatory does not stand. As for the collected biometric data, it is collected from the passport's chip, so technically the administration is already in possession of this data, there is nothing new here. I see this as completely independent from facial recognition surveillance (hence mandatory), which in my opinion we must fight against. [1] https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere/Alicem-la-premiere-solution-d-identite-numerique-regalienne-securisee https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere...

by moksly 7y ago

aclelland 7y ago

The lack of iOS support may be due to the way Apple restricts the use of NFC on iOS devices[1]. This seems to be changing in iOS 13 though. [1] https://gototags.com/blog/apple-expands-nfc-on-iphone-in-ios-13/ https://gototags.com/blog/apple-expands-nfc-on-iphone-in-ios...

LeYaude 7y ago

The information at [1] (in French) clearly states that alternative methods remain available. Here is the translation of an excerpt: "Creating an Alicem account is not mandatory. Users remain free of using available alternatives: - account creation on the specific service [Translator's note: this identification method is destined at the national SSO that is only one way of logging in the various public services] - other electronic identification methods on FranceConnect [Translator's note: FranceConnect is the name of this SSO. This includes at least fiscal number + password and social security number + password and maybe other methods] - traditional physical administrative procedures" I am not necessarily a fan of this identification method and for myself I consider it less secure than a sufficiently strong, properly stored and regularly updates password. Still, the argument of locking the users or making the smartphone mandatory does not stand. As for the collected biometric data, it is collected from the passport's chip, so technically the administration is already in possession of this data, there is nothing new here. I see this as completely independent from facial recognition surveillance (hence mandatory), which in my opinion we must fight against. [1] https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere/Alicem-la-premiere-solution-d-identite-numerique-regalienne-securisee https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/L-actu-du-Ministere...