The Czech Republic has launched an official mobile ID app, dubbed “eDoklady” (or “eDocuments” in Czech). Central government authorities are now required to recognize the digital ID, and police will begin to recognize the digital ID in April of this year, followed later by financial authorities, municipal authorities, and the Czech Post.
The app allows users to selectively share information with verifiers; for example, if a user needs to confirm her age, she can do so without also having to show extraneous information such as name and address. Registration for the digital ID must be done in person.
The app’s launch comes after the country’s Chamber of Deputies approved legislation enabling the use of mobile-based digital IDs last year. The eDoklady app was developed by the Digital Information Agency (DIA), and is meant to provide an easy-to-use mobile credential that features the same information displayed on a traditional, physical ID.
Verifying organizations can confirm citizens’ digital IDs using a web-based app that can be operated through a standard browser, and does not require specialized hardware.
On the eDoklady’s official website, the Czech government emphasizes its security, noting that biometric authentication on the user’s mobile device is required in order to access the app. The user’s data is encrypted and stored in the user’s smartphone, and the website asserts that it is ‘not possible to falsify a citizen’ in the digital ID app.
For many, the app will represent a first step toward a broader digital ID program in the works for the entire European Union. Multiple large-scale pilots are now underway to lay the groundwork for the planned EU Digital Identity (EUDI) wallet.
Sources: Expats.cz, eDoklady.gov.cz
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January 24, 2024 – by Alex Perala
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