The France Identity application is out. Eventually, in connection with the national biometric identity card, this will make it possible to identify oneself online and to prove one’s identity for various procedures.
Resulting from an interministerial program, the France Identity application is beginning its test phase, before opening the way to digital identity for a larger portion of French people. Available on the Play Store of the Android ecosystem since May 12, it works hand in hand with the new national biometric identity card (CNIe), of which 4.5 million copies have already been distributed. As a reminder, this is the new identity document in credit card format, incorporating an electronic chip.
High level of guarantee, but still little use
By scanning this card with the France Identity application, citizens will be able to prove their identity online, to access a government service via France Connect, open an online bank account via France Connect+, validate a power of attorney or more simply provide proof of their majority. According to the e-IDAS, European regulation on digital identity, this technology offers users and institutions a level of guarantee deemed “high”.
Still, for the moment, the use scenarios activated are few. The only functionality offered is actually the production of “one-time use credentials”. This clearly limits the interest of the application as it stands, but the launch of its test phase must be seen as the first step in the transition from the national identity card to the mobile phone. A long-term objective assumed by Brussels, which is pushing the adoption of a European digital wallet.
It will take time. For proof, even with France Identity, the card in physical support will remain necessary since it will continue to store the data within its chip. Also, the States are worried about having to rely – for certain layers of security – on mobile operating systems published by American firms, Apple and Google.
Speaking of data protection, the Cnil obviously followed this project closely and if it had been very critical of Alicem and its biometric recognition project, the choice of a simple confidential code and the security measures implemented place enabled the decree published at the end of April to be favorably received by the regulator. Finally, although it is completely optional, some, like La Quadrature du Net, are nevertheless worried about seeing digital identity forcing its way into our daily lives.