What are Italians protesting about the new digital ID and why now?
Executive summary
Italians are protesting aspects of a rapid digital identity roll‑out — notably the national “It Wallet” pilot and a Europe‑wide move toward mandatory eID wallets by 2026 — amid concerns about privacy, technical glitches and distrust after past digital security problems; Italy reported nearly 90 million digital identities issued as of April 2025 while a 50,000‑user preview of the national wallet was used to test nationwide rollout plans [1] [2]. Protests are also mixing with broader student and political unrest in late 2025, complicating what is specifically about digital ID and what reflects other grievances [3] [4].
1. What is the new digital ID being rolled out — and what changed now
Italy has been building toward an interoperable national and European digital ID architecture: a national “It Wallet” preview was opened to 50,000 users as a testbed, with plans to expand nationwide by December after phased rollouts that began in 2025; the push ties into the EU’s 2026 deadline for eID/eWallet interoperability [1] [2]. Authorities also consolidated civil‑status records into a national digital repository and promoted offline access to wallet credentials, reflecting a large state effort to digitize public services [2].
2. Why citizens say they oppose it — privacy, security and usability complaints
Critics point to privacy and security risks in federated systems: analyses have flagged vulnerabilities in Italy’s SPID system and concerns that multiple identity providers create attack surface and public distrust; a 2025 survey found rising distrust in public administration digital services after breaches [5]. Journalists and industry sources note debates about technical specifications, privacy protections, and whether citizens can realistically control “attributes” attached to digital identities — core issues driving public unease [1] [5].
3. Practical failures that fuel anger: glitches, errors and exclusion fears
Italy’s digitization drive has encountered operational problems — including records migration and earlier identity‑card errors — which feed narratives that a mass digital transition will be chaotic and risk erroneous or exclusionary outcomes for citizens who lack digital access or face bureaucratic mistakes [6] [2]. Those real‑world incidents amplify scepticism about handing even more power to digital credentials without ironed‑out safeguards [2] [6].
4. Political timing: why protests cluster now
The intensified protests in late 2025 coincide with the national wallet’s public rollouts and EU momentum toward mandatory interoperable wallets by 2026, creating a focal point for discontent [1] [4]. At the same time, large student demonstrations over unrelated foreign‑policy issues have filled the streets, meaning anti‑digital‑ID actions are blending with broader anti‑government or sectoral protests — complicating attribution of motives [3] [4].
5. Misinformation and image‑mixing — some protest visuals are unrelated
Factchecks show some widely circulated photos claiming to depict digital‑ID protests actually come from earlier demonstrations (e.g., 2021 vaccine‑passport protests) or other events in 2025, indicating disinformation and image‑mixing are present in the online debate [4]. Available sources do not present evidence that every viral claim about a “general strike” or total tax refusal over a forced wallet is verified; fringe outlets amplify dramatic narratives not corroborated in mainstream reporting [7] [4].
6. Two competing narratives: control vs convenience
Pro‑government and technocratic voices frame the wallet as a citizen convenience and necessary interoperability step: Italy reported nearly 90 million digital identities (CIE and SPID) and emphasizes faster, online bureaucratic services and offline wallet access for resilience [2]. Opponents frame it as state overreach, a privacy risk and a system rolled out too fast after security incidents; analyses of SPID weaknesses and rising public distrust underpin that critique [5] [1].
7. What to watch next — safeguards, uptake and EU rules
Key indicators to follow are whether Italy finalizes privacy controls and “attribute” governance for the wallet, how authorities address reported SPID/CIE vulnerabilities, and whether EU eID/eWallet regulation enforcement (aimed at 2026 interoperability) forces a tighter timetable that further polarizes debate [1] [5]. Also watch if mainstream Italian media and institutions publish audits or GPDP (data‑protection) findings to either reassure or further alarm citizens — available sources do not mention any final GPDP ruling in the current set (not found in current reporting).
Limitations: reporting in the collected sources mixes technical industry analysis, factchecks and national protest coverage; some claims circulating online (e.g., nationwide tax refusal or general strike solely over a “forced” wallet) come from outlets that are not independently verified here and have been debunked as image‑misattributions [7] [4]. My synthesis relies only on the provided sources and notes where those sources disagree or do not provide details.