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(LifeSiteNews) — EU officials have agreed on a legal framework to introduce a “digital identity wallet” that threatens the privacy of citizens, according to cybersecurity experts.
The European Parliament and Council of the European Union approved the framework for the European digital identity (eID) on November 8, according to the Council’s press release.
The digital identity wallet aims “to ensure universal access for people and businesses to secure and trustworthy electronic identification and authentication.”
The Council also confirmed what many critics have warned about, namely that the digital ID will not only serve as a digital passport but also be linked to “other personal attributes” such as one’s “driving licence, diplomas, [and] bank account.”
“With the approval of the European digital identity regulation, we are taking a fundamental step so that citizens can have a unique and secure European digital identity,” the Spanish minister for economy and digitalization, Nadia Calvino, said. She added that the EU sets a “global reference in the digital field” that protects “our democratic rights and values.”
READ: EU’s social media encryption ban will increase threats to child safety, not diminish them
The Digital Identity Wallet is part of the EU’s policy program called “the 2030 Digital Decade,” which aims to achieve “digital transformation by 2030.”
“According to the Digital Decade targets, by 2030, all key public services should be available online, all citizens should be able to access their online health records, and everyone should have access to secure privacy-enhancing eID,” a press release from EU Commission states.
After a legal and linguistic review, the new regulation must be adopted by a majority of EU parliamentarians and the Council members before it takes effect.
Dutch anti-globalist political commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Unless it miraculously gets voted out in the plenary (which is highly unlikely) it will come in effect soon and everyone living in the EU will soon have a digital wallet.”
Vlaardingerbroek warned that the digital wallet “will be much more than just your passport in a digital form.”
“It will entail EVERYTHING the government wants to know about you. It will hold all of your personal information, biometric data, medical records and of course soon also your Digital Euro (Central Bank Digital Currency) that is currently being developed.”
“Just like we’ve seen with covid, the government will have the power to track your every move. And of course, it’s all ‘voluntary’ for now. Until it’s not,” she stated.
Over 500 scientists, cybersecurity experts, and researchers signed an open letter criticizing the EU’s digital ID plan. The letter points out that the legal framework would enable the governments of member states to surveil the web activities of citizens.
“After reading the near-final text, we are deeply concerned by the proposed text for Article 45,” the letter reads.
“The current proposal radically expands the ability of governments to surveil both their own citizens and residents across the EU by providing them with the technical means to intercept encrypted web traffic, as well as undermining the existing oversight mechanisms relied on by European citizens. Concretely, the regulation enables each EU member state (and recognised third party countries) to designate cryptographic keys for which trust is mandatory; this trust can only be withdrawn with the government’s permission (Article 45a(4)).”
“This means any EU member state or third party country, acting alone, is capable of intercepting the web traffic of any EU citizen and there is no effective recourse,” the letter continues.
“We ask that you urgently reconsider this text and make clear that Article 45 will not interfere with trust decisions around the cryptographic keys and certificates used to secure web traffic.”
Dutch MEP Rob Roos reacted to the agreement on the framework for the digital ID on X, writing that EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said the following shortly after the deal was done: “Now that we have a Digital Identity Wallet, we have to put something in it…,” suggesting a link between central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the Digital Identity Wallet.
🚨 BREAKING: Very bad news. The European Parliament and Member States just reached an agreement on introducing the Digital Identity, #eID.
Directly afterwards, #EU Commissioner Breton said: “Now that we have a Digital Identity Wallet, we have to put something in it…”,… pic.twitter.com/SVC5exas9b
— Rob Roos MEP 🇳🇱 (@Rob_Roos) November 8, 2023
Roos and Vlaardingerbroek both called on citizens to contact the MEPs from their member states and urge them to oppose the legislation.
If you live in the EU, you can find the MEPs of your country here.
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