The majority vote of the European Parliament has resulted in the passing of a bill that aims to safeguard the privacy of EU citizens’ digital wallets by utilizing zero-knowledge proof technology.
The plenary session of the European Parliament saw 418 votes in favor of the bill on the digital identity system, with only 103 opposing it.
The introduction of a regulation that permits citizens to access digital public services, bank accounts, and assets via their personal digital wallets was also backed by the deputies.
To protect the user’s privacy during data verification and transmission, the legislation mandates the use of uniform norms and zero-knowledge proof technology.
EU citizens, residents, and businesses who want to identify themselves or provide proof of certain personal information will be able to use a European digital identity through a personal wallet for both online and offline services in the European Union.
The European Commission predicts that a single digital gateway will help Europeans save up to 855,000 hours of time each year, while companies will save more than 11 billion euros.
The proposal to create a blockchain-based information system for the digital identification of European Union citizens was initially introduced in 2021.
At that time, the European Commission did not require all EU member states to use any particular blockchain technology to implement a pan-European digital identity system.