The European Commission has a plan which enables citizens to identify themselves and share electronic documents from a special wallet app for smartphones. Major platforms will be required to accept the new European digital identity. The European Commission states that the use of identity by citizens will be voluntary. “The new European digital identity wallets will enable all Europeans to use online services without having to use private identification methods or unnecessarily share personal data. With this solution, they will have full control over the data they share,” said the European Commission. In addition to identifying users, the wallet app will also make it possible to prove certain personal characteristics, such as someone’s age. “Every time an app or website asks us to create a new digital identity or log in via a large platform, we have no idea what actually happens to our data. That is why the Commission proposes a secure European e-identity. One that is trusted and that citizens everywhere in Europe can use to do everything from paying taxes to renting a bicycle. A technology where we decide what data is used and in what way” , says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
