Will you soon have to prove your identity to access Facebook and [X]?

After a long period of deliberation between the Council and Parliament, the European Union authorities have finally reached a final agreement.

The agreementfollows the DMA and the DSA, and intervenes as part of the establishment of the European digital identity portfolio. This new wallet could be similar to what the Apple firm offers with its Wallet application, but for different purposes.

While Apple's allows you to keep bank cards, loyalty cards, car keys or plane tickets, that of the European Union would also be used to keepvaluable documents, such as their identity card, driving license or vital card, but this will not be their only use.

Propose an alternative to Google and Facebook

It took a long time for decision-makers to agree on these new measures. And for good reason: it is not just about providing citizens with centralized and easy access to their personal documents. The project indeed has a much deeper purpose.

With the arrival of this all-in-one digital wallet, the European Union wants to regain control of the digital activities of gatekeepers (companies with more than 45 million users within the territory). For this, the institutionrequires them initially to allow the possibilitytheir users to log in to their services using the EU digital identity wallet.

The tool also aims to offer an alternative for connecting to different services, as Google and Facebook already offer, or even the French government for its public services.

Not obligatory, for the moment

For the moment, its use is not obligatory, indicates the EU: “During the negotiations, MEPs obtained provisions to protect citizens' rights and promote an inclusive digital systemavoiding any discriminationwith regard tothose who choose not to usethe digital wallet". But many people are convinced that it is only for a while.

Some parliamentarians have in fact already proposed the end of anonymity on social networks, but not of pseudonymity. That is to say, to connect to a platform affected by the measurement, you would have to prove your identity. But it would also still be allowed to react, comment or publish under a pseudonym.

It's unclear exactly when the wallet will be available, but it could happen fairly quickly, as early as 2024.