The Commission has registered the citizens’ initiative calling for “privacy-friendly” digital identity and age verification systems

Brussels – The European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Stop Killing The Internet: No Digital ID & No Age Verification” has been registered. The European Commission concluded its assessment of the initiative’s admissibility today (22 July) and, in accordance with the European Regulation on European Citizens’ Initiatives, the organisers now have six months to launch the signature collection period, which may last up to 12 months. 

As part of the initiative, the organisers have called on the Commission to propose legislation ensuring that digital identity and age verification systems used to access online services within the EU remain “voluntary, privacy-preserving and non-discriminatory.” The campaigners believe that citizens should not be forced to identify themselves “to access lawful online content or services, unless it is strictly necessary, proportionate and required by law”. Therefore, the legislation should provide for: anonymous or pseudonymous age verification based on privacy-preserving cryptography; a technical and legal ban on cross-service tracking; data minimisation and selective disclosure by default; mandatory open standards and publicly verifiable cryptographic protocols; independent audits on security and fundamental rights; a ban on third-party tracking of services; parliamentary scrutiny of implementing acts defining technical specifications; and a guarantee of equivalent non-digital alternatives for all citizens. 

The initiative emphasises that “Europe can protect children without creating a permanent online identity,” and therefore “digital identity must remain voluntary, privacy-preserving, decentralised, and usable without forcing citizens to use a digital wallet managed by the state or by large technology companies.” This means that “citizens must not be required to identify themselves to access lawful online content or services, unless this is strictly necessary, proportionate, and provided for by law in accordance with Articles 7 and 8 of Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.” 

Today’s registration does not affect the Commission’s final decision on the substance of the matter, nor any action it may take. A final decision will be made only if the ECI collects at least one million valid signatures from EU citizens, with a minimum of signatures in at least seven Member States. Also today, the Commission rejected the European Citizens’ Initiative “Save Europe Act”, which called for a moratorium on new channels of non-Western immigration and a radical overhaul of European migration and asylum policies.