Germany has passed its national law for the EU Digital Identity Wallet, launching January 2 as “d-you.” The government insists it’s voluntary. Platforms will be legally required to accept it, even where EU rules don’t demand it. The age for using online ID drops from 16 to 13. A ban on automatically sharing biometric photos between passport and ID card authorities has been scrapped. The pseudonym function EU law requires won’t be ready at launch. The SPD already wants the wallet mandatory for social media and has complained that VPNs make it too easy to get around. Every part that expands the system is ready to go.

Reclaim The Net: Free Speech, Privacy, Digital Rights

Germany Approves EU Digital Identity Wallet Law

Berlin calls it voluntary, while lawmakers keep expanding the places where it must be accepted.