Open Access

Stephane Chaudron, Henning Eichinger

• This publication is a Technical report by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. It aims to provide evidence-based scientific support to the European policymaking process. This report provides an bird’s-eye view on the concept and implications of digital identities. After an introduction situating the concept of identity, the report clarifies its contemporary meaning and proposes a definition of reference. Subsequently, the authors examine the consequences of the translation of the concept of identity into the digital, internet connected world. They then analyse the particularities and consequences of this translation, which allows them to situate and define the concept of digital identities. Finally, they conclude with the challenges that digital identity poses to the digital citizen in the attempt to manage and protect its attributes with the advent of Internet of Things and blockchain technology.