by The EU’s incoming digital identity wallet has sparked claims on social media and from politicians that Brussels intends to strip citizens of their privacy and control their lives.
The wallet, which is still in development, is an app that will allow users to store important information such as official ID and bank details in one secure place. It will allow citizens, residents and businesses to prove their identity to access public and private services across Europe.
The European Commission says the wallet will provide a simple and safe way to control how much information people want to share with services that ask for personal data, controlling a person’s data from large organizations and giving it back to the individual.
“Every time an app or website asks us to create a new digital identity or easily log in to a big platform, we have no idea what actually happens to our data,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the wallet revealing it. in her 2020 State of the Union address.
“That is why the Commission will propose a secure European electronic identity. One that we trust and that any citizen anywhere in Europe can use to do anything from paying your taxes to renting a bike,” she said. “Technology where we can control ourselves which data is used and how.”
But despite this, many have taken to social media to express their fears: some with legitimate concerns, and others with outlandish theories.
Although the EU has declared that users of the wallet will have full control over what information is shared and with whom, some say it will take away citizens’ freedom and privacy.
Others say Brussels plans to use the wallet to deny people their rights and control them.
The Cube submitted some of the claims to the experts to see what they made of them.
Will the wallet destroy our privacy?
First, we asked whether the wallet would be a breach of privacy, based on fears that so much personal data would be stored on a single app.
Lilly Schmidt, research associate and program leader at the Digital Society Institute at the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin, said the real purpose of the wallet is to enhance our privacy, not undermine it.
“I find a place [the fear] It comes from the fear of state dissolution in general or the trust in governments that is always hard to find, especially in the digital world,” she said. “But what the regulation really wants to do is get rid of the ‘black box’ and improve transparency.”
Professor Bart Jacobs at Radboud University Nijmegen took a more cautious approach, noting that identity wallets can be “both good and bad for our privacy”. He said that when you want to watch an age-rated movie online, for example, it’s easier to use your wallet’s privacy to reveal your age only, rather than uploading a copy of your passport to confirm which your age
“That’s why I’m arguing in favor of strict supervision for this kind of new technology,” said Jacobs, who is one of the people behind Yivi – a similar digital identity app in the Netherlands. “It’s against the law to abuse systems like this, but the law should be upheld.”
It is also important that citizens are informed about the matter so that they fully understand the consequences of data sharing, according to experts.
Sanna Toropainen, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, noted that GDPR, the EU’s landmark data protection regulation, gives individuals the right to have their data deleted, but only in certain cases.
“For example, when the public authority processes personal data for a legal obligation, you do not have the right to delete data,” she said. “So while the wallet doesn’t ‘log or take away’ our privacy, it puts the so-called regulatory burden in our hands, and we need to be educated enough to use the wallet so that we know what happens to our data. after we share it and what our rights are.”
Will we be at the mercy of big business and governments?
Another reason raised against the digital wallet is that EU citizens will be powerless against large corporations and governments that will farm their data.
The experts emphasized the importance of consent, and ultimately it is up to the citizens, not the establishment, to share personal data.
“Consent is a weak mechanism because people can be pressured,” Jacobs said. “So it’s ultimately a limited form of protection, but people are definitely not empowered in these situations.”
Schmidt also noted that citizens will be able to see how their data is being used, withdraw their consent if they see any misuse and report it to the authorities. She also said that the wallet legislation is being worked on and that additional protections could still be provided.
Regardless, the EU’s digital identity wallet will provide an alternative to Meta or Google login systems, according to Toropainen. She said that while these are convenient, the companies remain in control of your data and you don’t know exactly how it will be used.
“With the EU’s digital identity wallet, you can log in to Facebook and both, knowing what data is shared as specified in the regulation,” she said.
Toropainen said, however, that the potential downside of the wallet is that you won’t be able to remain completely anonymous while using it, as it will be linked to your legal ID and therefore your name will be shared along with any other information that you give
Is Europe moving towards a social credit system like China?
Other social media users have claimed that the EU’s digital identity wallet is a step away from China’s controversial social credit system, which assigns a credit score to individuals, businesses and government entities based on their trustworthiness.
This trustworthiness is based on a person’s social behavior and is controlled by actions such as paying bills on time and obeying the law.
Schmidt said that people tend to feel a little scared when governments introduce new technology solutions, but he reiterated that the EU’s digital identity wallet is a case where the government gives citizens control of their own data.
“So in that sense, it’s almost the opposite of the Chinese credit system,” she said.
Jacobs echoed the same sentiment, arguing that the idea that the EU’s digital identity wallet is similar to a social credit system is unfounded.
“The Chinese social credit system is a completely different order and it really requires the kind of political decision that I don’t think we are ready in Europe to make,” he said. “And of course, a wallet could be used for such technology. But ordinary passports can also be used for such technology. So I think they are fairly independent questions.”
