Conflicting Interests in the Development of a Harmonized EU e-Passport

Identity and evidence of identity in the form of identification documents, passwords, and codes are key features of the information age and identity infrastructures which are essential in delivering public services and in executing border-control measures. Although increasingly sophisticated, such infrastructures and digital identities are vulnerable to exploitation. Identity theft, offline as well as online, is a key concern for all law enforcement. Fraudulent use of passports from the European Union (EU) is prevalent and has been rather constant over the past few years despite enhanced security mechanisms in EU passports. In response, a harmonized EU-wide e-passport is currently under development, aimed at enhancing the security of identification processes and at stifling identity theft. In this paper, an assessment is undertaken, investigating ethical implications of the novel EU passport regime and how different stakeholders may be affected. It is argued that assessments should include the effects on third country nationals and not only on EU members.