TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Premier Chen Chien-jen said on Tuesday (March 5), that any decisions regarding digital national identification cards involving personal data protection would be postponed until the establishment of a future Personal Data Protection Commission.
The initiative to fully implement a new digital identification system was launched by the Executive Yuan in 2020, only to halt its operations in January 2021 due to major security concerns raised by the public.
Because of the postponement, suppliers are seeking compensation from the government. However, following the Executive Yuan's Public Construction Commission mediation, the overall settlement amount will be limited to NT$280 million.
Though it's significantly lower than the original compensation claims made by suppliers, which exceeded NT$1 billion, it still drew the public's ire.
"Concerning the issues with the digital identification, the public will not have to bear the compensation amount," said Chen.
He also reiterated that the government has reached an agreement with the suppliers to cap the compensation amount to under NT$280 million.
According to Chen, in accordance with the interpretation from the Constitutional Court, an independent oversight mechanism would be set up for the protection of personal data.
He stated that the government is in preparations for the Personal Data Protection Commission. Once established, the government would reconsider the necessity of the new-style identification cards.