{"id":136721,"date":"2023-12-08T15:34:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T15:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com"},"modified":"2023-12-13T12:49:18","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T12:49:18","slug":"eidas-2-0-controversies-a-real-threat-to-internet-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/eidas-2-0-controversies-a-real-threat-to-internet-freedom","title":{"rendered":"eIDAS 2.0 Controversies: A Real Threat to Internet Freedom?"},"content":{"rendered":"

After years of negotiations between the major European regulators, the European Union is enacting a new set of digital identity rules: eIDAS 2.0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The aim is to provide a shared framework to ensure security and control over digital ID data at the continental level instead of relying only on national solutions.<\/p>\n

However, a controversy stemmed between the key EU legislative bodies and several civil society groups, including the free software community Mozilla<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to Mozilla, there’s a serious concern about the balance between the control power provided to the ‘government-approved’ Certificate Authorities<\/a> (CAs).<\/p>\n

Browsers will be left with very little range to apply any countermeasure in a situation where CAs can potentially start surveilling people.<\/p>\n

What are the foundations of eIDAS and the reasons for revising it? Why are these revisions so controversial? How is the future of digital IDs in Europe going to evolve? Let’s try to find an answer to all these questions to obtain a clearer picture of what’s going on.<\/p>\n

What is eIDAS, and What Does 2.0 Entail?<\/span><\/h2>\n

eIDAS is a regulation<\/a> that established a shared framework between all 27 European Union (EU) countries for safe and efficient business electronic interactions.<\/p>\n

Its acronym stands for “electronic Identification, Authentication, and trust Services,” and it was passed in 2014. eIDAS regulates all forms of electronic identification (eID), such as electronic signatures, digital certificates, and electronic seals, as well as trust services for electronic transactions within the EU market.<\/p>\n

The purpose is to provide a safe way for individuals and businesses to transfer electronic funds or perform transactions without needing paper-based documents.<\/p>\n

The European Commission established eIDAS as part of the broader Europe’s Digital Agenda. Its implementation aimed to drive innovation and information security by focusing on interoperability and transparency while conducting cross-border business. eIDAS constituted the regulatory framework under which several components of the Digital Agenda eventually fell. Among these, some of the most important ones were:<\/p>\n