Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 31/01/2022
Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19-related conspiracy theories have been spreading on social networks, as well as theories about the desire of the world’s powerful people to control the citizens.
Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19-related conspiracy theories have been spreading on social networks, as well as theories about the desire of the world’s powerful people to control the citizens. Is e-identity just another “intention” of rich people to “chip” us, or is it something else…
Technological progress is often a victim of such theories.
“DIGITAL IDENTITY and TOTAL CONTROL… ..‼ ..yesterday it was a simple conspiracy theory…… but today it has become our CRUEL REALITY…. They tell us everything and people are still sleeping”, states the text of the video, which is being shared on Facebook.
In the video, we can see the explanation of the proposal introducing e-identity presented by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“Every time an application or website offers us to create a new digital identity or simply sign up based on the identification function of one of the big platforms, we can’t know what’s really going on with our data. That is why the Commission will propose a secure European electronic identity. An identity that we trust and that every citizen anywhere in Europe will be able to use for various services, from paying taxes to renting a bike. Technology thanks to which we can control which data is used and in what way”, she said at the presentation.
What is it all about?
As can be clearly seen on the website of the European Commission, digital, i.e., e-identity, “is intended for use in the form of a digital wallet, available as applications on mobile phones and other devices”.
(It provides: Internet and non-Internet identification, storage and exchange of information provided by Member State authorities, such as name, surname, date of birth and nationality, storage and exchange of information provided by reliable private sources, use of information to confirm rights, e.g., rights to residence, work or study in an EU Member State”.
In its text on this topic, Politiko explained that the EU desires to store digital data of its citizens and not large technology companies outside the EU, such as Facebook and Google.
Given these facts, this publication received a conspiracy theory rating.
The “conspiracy theory” rating is given to a media report that gives an untrue or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event, or person, presenting them as part of or the result of a covert plan (“conspiracy”). It is characteristic of such contents that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, without credible evidence.