Rolling out eIDAS: Final draft of the Principles and Guidance on eID interoperability for online platforms – Share your views!

The Communication on Online Platforms and the Digital Single Market (COM(2016)288) launched an action "to encourage online platforms to recognise other eID means — in particular those notified under the eIDAS Regulation (EC) 910/2014 — that offer the same reassurance as their own". A participatory and co-creation process with interested stakeholders was organised to discuss how online platforms and their users could make use of the opportunities provided by the government issued/recognised eID means.

The goal is to develop a set of principles and guidance on eID interoperability for online platform to allow and facilitate online platforms users, if they wish so, to rely on their own government-issued/recognised eID means whenever the access to online platforms may require electronic identification or authentication steps. The ambition is to reflect values that everybody (users and online platform providers) can subscribe to as well as a common understanding of how everybody can leverage and benefits from the possible use of trusted eID, like those recognised under eIDAS, whenever an identification or authentication step is needed to access online platform services.

In the course of last year, we have organised two dedicated workshops gathering representatives of online platforms, consumer and business organisations, individual businesses, digital identity providers, Member State authorities, academia and think tanks, etc. to discuss eID interoperability on online platforms. During the first workshop on 24 April 2017 the first ideas and views were discussed and the participants agreed on the way ahead towards finalising and validating a set of principles and guidance on eID interoperability for online platforms in an open and inclusive way.

After the first workshop, a draft set of principles and guidance were published for consultation further to which a revised version was presented and discussed in a participatory workshop on the 29 November 2017. The workshop stimulated a very constructive discussion and many comments and ideas on how to improve the principles and guidelines were shared.  Based on these, we have yet again revised the draft principles and guidance, in particular by improving the overall structure and wording of the guidance to make it clearer which principles each guidance item refers to.

The draft principles and guidance that we share with you today are the result of a participatory and co-creation process involving relevant stakeholders and supported by the Commission. They are built on all input and comments collected during the workshops and the first open consultation, as well as the feedback received from stakeholders who volunteered to support the drafting process. Now you have the final opportunity to share your views on the revised draft principles and guidance.  

What will be the next step?

• The current draft principles and guidelines are shared for an open discussion with all of you. The deadline for comments is 16th of March 2018.

• Further to this round of open consultation, a final version of the principles and guidance will be produced and made publicly available to all stakeholders who will be invited to endorse and adopt them.

We would like to hear from everyone interested in this topic!

Share your views by posting a comment below or by sending an e-mail to CNECT-EGOVERNMENT-AND-TRUST@ec.europa.eu before 16 March 2018.

The Final Draft after the open consultation is available here.