Germany is getting its version of the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet, as the country’s parliament (Bundestag) has passed the Digital Identities Act on October 15.
The law serves as the national legal framework for the introduction of the digital ID wallet, that the EU’s official digital ID scheme will be implemented with, and that Germany will launch on January 2, 2027, under the name d-you.
What the bill does is make it easier to exchange biometric data between the authorities in charge of passports and ID cards; it lowers the age at which people can use online ID from 16 to 13; and it gives citizens the option to refuse the biometric photo.
One of the issues was the age at which children can start using the digital ID, with the Left rejecting the lowering of the age to 13, “because it ultimately amounts to preparation for introducing a social media ban for young people, which it also rejects.”
EU rules say that very large online platforms are under obligation to accept the wallet, while the committee report said that the German law “extends the acceptance obligations” to situations with no cross-border element.
Reclaim The Net has previously reported about the plan of the Social Democrats (SPD) to make verification with the EUDI Wallet mandatory for social media users aged 16 and above. SPD Secretary General Tim Klüssendorf has been quoted as saying that “We are currently not meeting the state’s obligation to protect” and that workarounds “such as via a VPN tunnel” should not be possible.
The EU, however, says that the wallet will be voluntary.
