--- title: "🚨🇪🇺BREAKING: The EU has announced that every citizen will soon require …" source: "https://x.com/BasilTheGreat/status/2074101417749409833" platform: "X / Twitter" factual_accuracy: 7 overall_accuracy: 5 tags: ["vpn regulation", "digital passport", "eu politics", "online privacy", "european union", "europe", "state surveillance", "internet censorship", "digital identity"] --- # Source fact-check: 🚨🇪🇺BREAKING: The EU has announced that every citizen will soon require … Original post: https://x.com/BasilTheGreat/status/2074101417749409833 Factual accuracy: 7% · Overall accuracy: 5% ## Source post **Target post by @BasilTheGreat** > 🚨🇪🇺BREAKING: The EU has announced that every citizen will soon require a digital passport to access the internet. > > They have explicitly stated that "The new verification system cannot be bypassed via VPN." > > They will have complete control over everything you do online ## Post analysis Verdict: 5% · Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 06/07/2026 The post by BasilTheGreat is highly inaccurate and misrepresents EU digital initiatives. The EU has not announced a mandatory digital passport for internet access; the EU Digital Identity Wallet under eIDAS 2.0 is a voluntary tool for accessing specific digital services, not a requirement to go online[^1]. The assertion that the EU explicitly stated this system cannot be bypassed by VPN is false—EU officials have acknowledged that VPNs can circumvent such measures and have clarified there is absolutely no crackdown on VPNs[^2]. The claim that the EU will have complete control over everything individuals do online is a gross exaggeration; regulations like the Digital Services Act apply to platforms and intermediaries, not individual users, and explicitly exclude private communications while safeguarding fundamental rights[^3]. By omitting the voluntary nature of the wallet and conflating platform regulation with totalitarian control, the post uses alarmist rhetoric to distort the reality of EU policy. **Overall validity**: 5% [^1]: [The European Union announced that every citizen will soon be required to have a digital passport to access the internet.](#V5otKjEFNi9ycmbMgHJ4) [^2]: [The European Union stated that the new internet verification system linked to a digital passport cannot be bypassed using a VPN.](#3hQQHNHXusD8BM6xgM4x) [^3]: [The European Union will have complete control over everything individuals do online.](#TDH1CO4ieo54dUmY2Mjx) ## Claims found (3) ### 1. The European Union announced that every citizen will soon be required to have a digital passport to access the internet. — 10% Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 06/07/2026 · Detail: /claim/V5otKjEFNi9ycmbMgHJ4 Based on my research, the claim in the post is highly inaccurate and misrepresents the EU's actual digital identity initiative. ##### Fact Check Analysis **Reasoning:** - The EU has introduced the **EU Digital Identity Wallet** under the eIDAS 2.0 regulation, not a "digital passport"[^1][^2]. This is a voluntary digital identity system, not a mandatory requirement for internet access. - The wallet is designed to provide a secure, optional way for citizens to verify their identity when accessing specific digital services (banking, government services, healthcare), but it is **not required to access the internet in general**[^3][^2]. - The European Commission explicitly states that the wallet is "a secure and easy way for European citizens, residents and businesses to prove who they are when accessing digital services" and emphasizes user control over what data is shared[^2]. - The wallet is voluntary: "available to any EU citizen, resident, or business who **wishes to use it**"[^4]. - Privacy experts reviewing the initiative have noted they do not see anything about forcing citizens to provide ID to use the internet, and that the wallet simply provides a more secure identification option[^5]. - The confusion may stem from conflating the EU Digital Identity Wallet with the **Digital Product Passport** (DPP), which is a separate regulation requiring sustainability information for physical products sold in the EU, not a citizen identification system[^6][^7]. **Overall validity**: 10% [^1]: [The EU Digital Identity Wallet: What companies need to know | Arthur Cox LLP](https://www.arthurcox.com/knowledge/the-eu-digital-identity-wallet-what-companies-need-to-know) [^2]: [EU Digital Identity Wallet Home - European Commission](https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/spaces/EUDIGITALIDENTITYWALLET/pages/694487738/EU+Digital+Identity+Wallet+Home) [^3]: [Exploring Digital IDs and EU Digital Identity Wallets](https://www.moodys.com/web/en/us/kyc/resources/insights/exploring-digital-ids-and-the-eu-digital-id-wallet.html) [^4]: [\[PDF\] 9 facts about the EU Digital Identity Wallet - IDEMIA](https://www.idemia.com/pdf-export.php?post_id=11692&utm=) [^5]: [EU to launch "The Wallet", forcing all citizens to provide ID when using internet - General - Privacy Guides Community](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/eu-to-launch-the-wallet-forcing-all-citizens-to-provide-id-when-using-internet/34830) [^6]: [EU's Digital Product Passport: Advancing transparency and sustainability | data.europa.eu](https://data.europa.eu/en/news-events/news/eus-digital-product-passport-advancing-transparency-and-sustainability) [^7]: [Digital Product Passport (DPP)](https://kpmg.com/dk/en/esg/digital-product-passport--dpp-.html) ### 2. The European Union stated that the new internet verification system linked to a digital passport cannot be bypassed using a VPN. — 5% Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 06/07/2026 · Detail: /claim/3hQQHNHXusD8BM6xgM4x **Reasoning:** - The European Union has **not** stated that the new verification system cannot be bypassed via VPN. In fact, EU officials have explicitly acknowledged the opposite—that VPNs **can** bypass the system[^1]. - European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen stated at a press conference that users could circumvent the system through VPNs and suggested preventing such workarounds might be a "next step" for future examination[^1]. - When asked directly about preventing VPN bypasses, Virkkunen acknowledged that "no technology is foolproof"[^1]. - Her office later clarified that the objective is to make safeguards "more difficult to bypass—not to prohibit VPNs" and that there is "absolutely no crackdown on VPNs"[^1]. - An EU Parliamentary Research Service briefing noted that current age assurance measures "are relatively easy for minors to bypass" and identified VPNs as a "loophole" in existing child-protection legislation[^1]. - The claim also misrepresents the EU's digital identity initiative by using the term "digital passport." The EU introduced the **EU Digital Identity Wallet** under eIDAS 2.0, which is a **voluntary** system, not a mandatory requirement for internet access[^2]. **Overall validity**: 5% [^1]: [The European Union has explicitly stated that the new verification system cannot be bypassed via VPN.](/claim/5dcawnVJy4B5urx4cTGW) [^2]: [The European Union announced that every citizen will soon be required to have a digital passport to access the internet.](#V5otKjEFNi9ycmbMgHJ4) ### 3. The European Union will have complete control over everything individuals do online. — 5% Model: Kimi K2.6 · Checked on: 06/07/2026 · Detail: /claim/TDH1CO4ieo54dUmY2Mjx Based on my analysis, the claim that "The European Union will have complete control over everything individuals do online" is a significant exaggeration and misrepresentation of the EU's actual digital regulatory framework. **Fact Check Analysis:** - The EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) regulates *online platforms and intermediaries*, not individual users directly[^1][^2]. It does not grant the EU "complete control" over individual online activities. - The DSA has a defined scope that excludes private communications, including emails, private messaging services, and personal cloud storage services[^3][^4]. It applies primarily to public-facing platforms like social media, marketplaces, and search engines. - The regulation is proportionate, with lighter requirements for micro and small enterprises, and focuses on illegal content, harmful activities, and disinformation—not "everything" individuals do online[^2][^5]. - The DSA explicitly includes protections for fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and privacy under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights[^6][^7]. - While the DSA does grant government authorities some oversight powers, scholars have noted that its implementation must be consistent with proportionality principles and international human rights law[^7][^8]. - The claim reflects a common rhetorical distortion of digital regulation that conflates platform accountability with totalitarian control over individual behavior. **Overall validity**: 5% [^1]: [A guide to the Digital Services Act, the EU’s law to rein in Big Tech - AlgorithmWatch](https://algorithmwatch.org/en/dsa-explained) [^2]: [No. 85: The EU’s Digital Services Act and Its Impact on Online Platforms - Working Paper - Stanford Law School](https://law.stanford.edu/publications/no-85-the-eus-digital-services-act-and-its-impact-on-online-platforms) [^3]: [What is DSA: The Digital Services Act Explained - EDAA](https://edaa.eu/digital-services-act) [^4]: [EU’s Digital Services Act Just Became Applicable: Outlining Ten Key Areas of Interplay with the GDPR - Future of Privacy Forum](https://fpf.org/blog/eus-digital-services-act-just-became-applicable-outlining-ten-key-areas-of-interplay-with-the-gdpr) [^5]: [The Digital Services Act | Shaping Europe's digital future](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/digital-services-act) [^6]: [At a glance: Does the EU Digital Services Act protect freedom of expression? - European Digital Rights (EDRi)](https://edri.org/our-work/does-the-eu-digital-services-act-protect-freedom-of-expression) [^7]: [Platforms, Online Surveillance, and the European Union: The Digital ...](https://www.europeanpapers.eu/e-journal/platforms-online-surveillance-%20european-union-digital-services-act-dsa) [^8]: [Does the EU’s Digital Services Act Violate Freedom of Speech? | The Europe Corner | CSIS](https://www.csis.org/blogs/europe-corner/does-eus-digital-services-act-violate-freedom-speech)