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Deep diveSOCIETY

Digital Identity Sovereignty Act IDFree: When Everyone Fully Controls Their Digital Identity Data and Platforms No Longer Own Your Information

EU formally passes IDFree Digital Identity Sovereignty Act, requiring all online platforms to return control of user identity data to users, with platforms only permitted temporary use under user authorization

Digital Identity Sovereignty Act IDFree: When Everyone Fully Controls Their Digital Identity Data and Platforms No Longer Own Your Information

On October 8, 2029, the European Parliament passed the IDFree Digital Identity Sovereignty Act by an overwhelming majority. Described by the European Commission President as "a declaration of human rights for the digital age," the law requires all online platforms operating in the EU to fully return control of user identity data to users within 18 months.

IDFree's core principle is "data sovereignty belongs to the individual." The act mandates that all identity-related data — names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, payment information, browsing history, social relationship graphs — must be stored in user-selected "personal data vaults" rather than on platform servers. When platforms need to access this data, they must submit real-time requests to the user's "data vault" and obtain temporary access only with user authorization.

The act also introduces an "enhanced data portability right" — users can migrate all their data from one platform to another with a single click, including social relationships, content history, and personalization settings. This directly breaks the user lock-in moat that social platforms have built through data lock-in effects.

"IDFree will fundamentally change the power structure of the internet," said Thierry Breton, EU Digital Commissioner and key advocate of the act. "Over the past 20 years, internet platforms have built massive commercial empires by collecting and monopolizing user data. IDFree returns this data to its true owners."

Meta, Google, and ByteDance have formally opposed the act, arguing it would "seriously undermine the internet business model" and "affect service quality." But the EU remains firm, with violation penalties set at 6% of global revenue — potentially meaning billions of euros in fines for major platforms.

IDFree's implementation faces technical challenges. Currently, there is no mature "personal data vault" infrastructure globally, and multiple startups are accelerating development of related products. Decentralized identity (DID) and zero-knowledge proof technologies are considered key technical pathways for implementing IDFree.