Kinda getting China vibes here – the ability to control all of our data centrally, if someone does something the government does not like, his access to basic neccessities can be harmed with banning his identity. It is clearly not a democratic move. Moreover, what if a data breach happens? Every data stored in the same safe…
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For anyone thinking it’s a good idea I have 1 request. Imagine if in a couple of years after introducing this solution someone who opposes your views would be in power. Think how they may abuse. Then ask yourself again if it’s a good idea.
It may not be obligatory, but it will one day becomes necessary when my favourite stores/employers starts using it, as how it usually goes.
We give away our data all the time to third parties, so it maybe a good idea to actually have one box that controls where my data is going which is enabled by me having the ownership to the data, which is stored locally. It will make things manageable for sure, and we have means to hold state to account when shit hits the fan. The same cannot be said for private companies to whom we “consent” to give away our data almost all the time.
I’ve only been in Germany for a few years, but I see absolutely no indication that this is bound to gain any traction in the next decade (or two) here. Perhaps this will circumvent the “Datenschutz” argument for using paper, but somehow I feel it won’t be enough.
Also the government(s) here have done very little to earn my trust over these past few years, so they can take a long walk off a short pier on this one.
IIRC this already exists in a number of EU countries so this might be just making it so those systems work with each other. I am slightly worried about what having states like Hungary in the EU means for projects like this though.
It’s an awful plan and though I really do believe it was probably borne from good intentions I know for sure that it’s something that can and probably will be abused by parties who have access to it. It would also be the single most interesting thing to try and hack in the entire EU…
We already have eIDAS, and i presume the same system will be used to authenticate for this wallet. This means each member state is the one who actually issues certificates verifying your identity and stores your personal information, which at the end of the day they already have had since long before this wallet has existed, so in my opinion not much will change security wise from how things already are, it will just make things more practical. Not to mention it’s not mandatory in any way, you can still just use your physical documents which most members states will most likely not abandon. And even if they did, again, each member still has their own implementation of eIDAS which allows you to identify yourself without this wallet.
Is it a security risk? yeah sure, anything technological always poses a certain risk. But in terms of privacy, i don’t think anything will change much.
If you’re afraid of your data being used I hope you’re not using google or Facebook or meta or apple. Because they’ll all sell all your data without hesitation morals or rules.
A digital wallet has loads of benefits and your government is too slow and inefficient to use it in a nefarious way.
I use the [Yivi](https://www.yivi.app/en/) app sometimes and it gives the possibility to only share info that needed at that moment like 18+ proof when buying alcoholic drinks.
I feel like a lot of people really aren’t aware how much of their data is already floating around out there, we’re long past that
The problem is that it will make identity verification so easy that it’ll be required everywhere. Right now I’ve got various social media accounts simply under fake names – meaning the data they collect is going to be rather anonymous. In the interest of stopping bots or implementing age restrictions, they’ll soon require you to sign up through the wallet, meaning these companies suddenly will have your government-verified data.
This was impossible with paper IDs simply due to the scale (look at what online banking has have to set up to do it) and general hesitancy. If it’s just a click those barriers disappear. And things like eIDAS were restricted to (semi)government use.
We’ve seen similar reactions offline after carrying ID became mandatory. Ever since that was implemented, things like picking up a package, age verification for alcohol, office entry etc stopped accepting anything but official ID cards.
I doubt they’ll have a lower security than banks, and they are not allowed to have your data “only in one safe”…
Lets unpack this.
China vibes:
A digital wallet is *not* a central database, or a points system like the Chinese have.
Your government already has the power to make your identity disappear. A digital wallet does not change that. They also can just put you in jail. No need for new digital passports of wallets. However, ‘not linking you’ isn’t the trigger, as you as a citizen are protected by plenty of laws.
About data breaches:
The data is stored in your wallet, and only in your wallet. It is digitally singed by the parties that vouch for those details, and those parties already store and process the data. No new central database is needed, of will be build.
If or not this is a democratic move, I’m not sure what you mean, did you vote against this? and this the majority? Your representatives (those you voted for, and who have been elected democratically) have indirectly voted for this proposal.
Beyond that, every European country has laws against (digital) exclusion. Digital cannot, and may not be the only way. Paper still works. It also did during for example covid.
Pssssss… whatever. The world is so fucked up that it does not really matter anymore. The goverment wants more control; the goverment does not hide this attitude and they will force us. And then what? Another crisis? Ok!
Physical ID cards are already verified against a digital database, the difference is just where this digital fingerprint is stored – in your phone or on a separate plastic card.
In Sweden we already use “BankID” which works in a similar way and can be used to access most authorities and municipal services online, like healthcare, police, social security, taxation etc. The biggest problem is actually that this platform *isn’t* managed and owned by the government but rather by the largest banks in the country. This makes it hard for some foreigners like exchange students to access social services in Sweden since they don’t have a SSN and can’t open a bank account in one of the Swedish banks.
We already have them here on the basque country as bakQ since a couple years back. No problems so far, we also have the possibility of keeping other cards backed up by our bakQ in the form of the Nik app, so you can update and keep library, youth, hunting, etc cards just by refreshing them automatically via bakq