Poland Leads with GDPR-Compliant Digital Identity App
Poland is leading the digital transformation in Europe by offering comprehensive digital identity services through its mobile app, mObywatel. With 8 million users, the app allows citizens to access a variety of public services, such as producing a digital version of their ID, checking penalty points on their driving license, and monitoring local air quality. The app’s development has been accelerated by keeping the core team of developers within public institutions, ensuring quick access to digitized databases.
The upcoming EU eIDAS 2.0 regulation is expected to further enhance the app’s capabilities by enabling electronic identification systems to work across EU borders by 2026 or 2027. This will allow Polish citizens to verify their digital driving licenses in Germany or their digital IDs in Spain. The app’s continuous development includes potential features like notifying insurers of car accidents and aiding in online age verification, focusing on services that add real value to users.
Privacy concerns are addressed by adhering to “privacy-by-design, privacy-by-default” principles. The app primarily reuses existing government data more efficiently, ensuring that citizens’ data is handled with care. Suggestions for making the app open source and allowing users to see which data is accessed by government departments could enhance transparency and control over personal information.
The app’s introduction has been less controversial in Poland due to the existing culture of physical ID cards. Former digital minister Janusz Cieszyński emphasized the importance of keeping the app voluntary to avoid privacy concerns. He highlighted the potential for integrating more public services into the app, such as benefits and emergency allowances, which could be distributed quickly via virtual payment cards.
Source: Convenient or intrusive? How Poland has embraced digital ID cards
