Against the backdrop of rapid technological advancements, the European Commission (EC) is deep into developing the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI), touting its benefits to Europe’s citizens. But while the EC champions the merits of convenience and security, there’s an undercurrent of skepticism about the implications of such a tool, particularly around surveillance and ethical quandaries.
According to the European Commission, the EUDI will be a digital storage for citizens to “identify themselves, store and manage identity data and official documents in electronic format.” Imagine the simplicity of having your driver’s license, education qualifications, and medical prescriptions all stored securely in one place. But is this convenience masking a deeper issue?
EU Digital Identity Wallet Pilots Roll Out Under the Radar https://t.co/9sdUDUxcPS via @brownstoneinst
— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreyatucker) October 6, 2023
The EC’s narrative often spotlights the prospective applications of this wallet: checking into hotels, filing tax returns, or opening bank accounts. As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted in a 2020 State of the Union address, a secure European e-identity is the solution to the ambiguous data concerns individuals face online. She said, “We have no idea what happens to our data” when interacting online, suggesting that the EUDI could answer this digital age challenge.
However, as history has shown, digital identification, though novel, poses a suite of challenges. A 2018 WEF report on Digital ID candidly mentioned its potential to “close off” the digital world, leaving individuals stranded in the expanding chasm of the digital divide. With Digital ID, the risk is real. For instance, India’s biometric ID system, Aadhaar, resulted in numerous deaths in rural India when issues accessing the system blocked people from critical supplies, leading some to starvation.
The nuances of digital identification become even more complicated when finances enter the equation. The EUDI Wallet is set to integrate financial services. European Central Bank discussions on the European Digital Identity Framework suggest the EUDI will even support the emerging digital euro. This might sound progressive, but citizens’ financial transactions could be tracked, manipulated or even blocked, heralding an unprecedented era of financial surveillance.
Outside the core EU, even Ukraine, currently a non-EU member, has become a part of the EU Digital Wallet pilots. DIIA, Ukraine’s centralized digital application, has been showcased as a forerunner, with functionalities that are being considered for the broader European Wallet. From accessing banking services to reporting military movements in wartime, the Ukrainian application demonstrates how such tools can quickly expand in scope, a concept that Europeans might soon face.
For the average citizen, the allure of digital services in our increasingly connected world is undeniable. But when governance structures and the private sector facilitate these, the associated surveillance and ethical issues need rigorous public debate. And the EUDI, in this context, isn’t an outlier.
Even if the European Commission maintains that there’s “no obligation” to use an EUDI Wallet, projections suggest that by 2030, 80% of EU citizens will use some form of “electronic identification solution.” This leaves us pondering: will there come a day when digital IDs become a mandate, nudging the general populace into a system they didn’t sign up for?
While the promise of convenience through the EUDI Wallet is tantalizing, the potential threats it presents to privacy and civil liberties cannot be ignored. As Europe delves deeper into its “digital decade,” it’s paramount that the implications of tools like the EUDI Wallet are thoroughly understood and critically examined.
