Mobile phone laptop
(BRUSSELS) – EU Parliament and Council negotiators reached provisional agreement Wednesday on an EU wallet to authenticate and access public and private services and e-sign documents.
The new Digital Identity Wallet will allow citizens to identify and authenticate themselves online without having to resort to commercial providers – a practice that raises trust, security and privacy concerns.
Existing digital wallet solutions on mobile phones come at the cost of loss of control over personal data, according to the Commission, while these solutions are disconnected from a verified physical identity, which makes fraud and cybersecurity threats more difficult to mitigate.
The new EU wallet – which will be used on a voluntary basis – has provisions to safeguard citizens’ rights and foster an inclusive digital system by avoiding discrimination against those opting not to use the digital wallet.
The agreement provides for free “qualified electronic signatures” for EU wallet users, which are the most trusted, and have the same legal standing as a handwritten signature, as well as wallet-to-wallet interactions, to improve the fluidity of digital exchanges.
MEPs have also mandated the wallet’s open-source nature to encourage transparency, innovation and to enhance security. Moreover, they set stringent rules for the registration and oversight of companies involved to ensure accountability and traceability.
Via the so-called privacy dashboard, users will be able to have full control of their data and request that their data be deleted, as provided for under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Additionally, the right to use a pseudonym is enshrined in the legislation.
The legislation clarifies the scope of Qualified Website Authentication Certificates, which ensures that users can verify who is standing behind a website, while preserving the current well established industry security rules and standards.
The legislation will now have to be endorsed by both Parliament and Council before it becomes law.
Provisional Political Agreement on EU Digital Identity Wallet
European Digital Identity - guide
European Digital Identity proposed Regulation
European Digital Identity Recommendation
