On the Acceptance of Privacy-Preserving Authentication Technology: The Curious Case of National Identity Cards

Abstract

Abstract. Many attempts have been made to replace the ubiquitous username-and-password authentication scheme in order to improve user security, privacy and usability. However, none of the proposed methods have gained wide-spread user acceptance. In this paper, we examine the users' perceptions and concerns on using several alternative authentication methods on the Internet. We investigate the adoption of the new German national identity card, as it is the first eID-enabled card with dedicated features to enable privacy-preserving online authentication. Even though its large-scale roll-out was backed by a national government, adoption rates and acceptance are still low. We present results of three focus groups as well as interviews with service providers, showing that preserving privacy is just one of several factors relevant to the acceptance of novel authentication technologies by users as well as service providers.

A Socio-Technical Investigation into Smartphone Security

“…Improving usability, on its own, while necessary, has not proved sufficient in many contexts [10,11,23]. It is necessary to investigate other justifications for non-adoption in the smartphone context [27].…”

Privacy in Digital Identity Systems: Models, Assessment, and User Adoption

“…Moreover, as of 2012, only 7% of service providers do offer privacy-preserving functionality or intend to. The remaining 93% do require full and true civil identity, while many of them do not belong to sectors where civil identity is required (e. g. banks) [34]. This reflects the specific reluctance of private SPs to offer privacy-preserving functionality.…”

“…[37] The point here is that the perceived privacy has little to do with objective characteristics of an eIDMS. For example, [34] reports that in Germany there is a clear influence of the official nature (Identity Card) of the eID on the usage rate. Participants to this study have doubts about using an official and highly personal document to play around on the Internet, and see a "possible contradiction between being pseudonymously authenticated while using an ID card with their photo on it."…”

Regulating Access to Adult Content (with Privacy Preservation)

“…While solutions exist (eg. German e-ID), they have not yet been widely accepted [19]. The concern is that society seems to be sleepwalking into using biometrics for this purpose [33].…”

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