Germany’s new govt pledges support for digital ID

Germany’s new coalition government has pledged to continue digitizing public services and provide a digital identity to each citizen. The state is also looking to expand security with biometric surveillance, boost the AI industry and centralize data protection.

On Wednesday, the conservative bloc and center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) announced they had reached a deal to form a new federal government led by incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz. While the new cabinet has yet to be finalized, the coalition has promised a “major offensive” to modernize the state, Deutsche Welle reports.

This includes establishing a new Ministry of Digital and State Modernization, potentially headed by Christian Democrats (CDU) member Kristina Sinemus, says MLex. Its primary focus will be digitizing public administration.

An EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet will be provided for citizens and businesses, enabling identification, authentication, and payments, according to a 144-page coalition agreement.

“Every citizen will be required to have a citizen account and a digital identity,” says the document. “Those who do not want or cannot go digital will receive local assistance.”

Germany’s federal government announced plans to introduce a state digital identity wallet as part of the EUDI Wallet scheme last year. The project is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) and the Federal Office for Information Security.

Last year, SPRIND launched a 13-month prototype competition to solve the most important challenges in designing an EUDI wallet for German users. The national EUDI wallet is expected to become gradually usable by 2027.

The first core function of the mobile app wallet will be identification. The government also wants to create digital certificates for pension cards, disability cards and the health insurance fund’s A1 certificate, according to the new coalition agreement.

New government, new surveillance rules?

Other parts of the document delved into digital initiatives such as biometric surveillance, AI and data.

Security authorities should be able to conduct AI-based data analysis during serious crime, including retrospective biometric identification to identify perpetrators, the government says.

“For the retrospective identification of suspected perpetrators, we want to implement video surveillance at crime hotspots,” the coalition agreement notes. “The Federal Criminal Police Office should be granted a legal basis for testing and training IT products.”

Last August, the German Ministry of the Interior published a draft law allowing law enforcement to compare images from violent video footage to photos posted to social media with biometrics. The move came after controversial deployments of facial recognition in Berlin and the state of Saxony.

The coalition government also pledges to reduce bureaucracy and consolidate data protection supervision over the private sector under the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI). The agency is also lengthening its name and becoming the Federal Commissioner for Data Use, Data Protection and Freedom of Information.

Finally, the coalition agreement also promises “massive investments” in cloud and AI infrastructure as well as connecting AI and robotics.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  EU Digital Identity Wallet  |  Germany