Historical Context
The development of the Company Passport is part of a broader context of international and national developments. The following timeline provides an overview of the most important milestones in the development of the Company Passport.
Digital Identities
In recent years, digital identities and working with digital data and technologies (including Self Sovereign Identity and Blockchain) have increasingly made headlines. The concept of Self Sovereign Identities has now also been included in the proposed revision of European Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market - better known as eIDAS. eIDAS '2.0' introduces the European Identity Wallet: There will be a European digital identity for every EU citizen, resident, and business in the EU that wants one, said Ursula von der Leyen (2020), President of the European Commission. This wallet can also be used to clarify a citizen's role within a company.
Data control and the Digital Government Act
In the Netherlands, legislation is also underway to give citizens control over their data and provide insight into data processing. Under the Digital Government Act, a framework is being developed to enable the free movement of personal data under protection and trust. The Dutch government is also working on the digital (source) identity: the digital version of identity data as registered by the government, usable for citizens. Thus, European and national developments intersect.
Digital establishment of a company
According to the European Directive on the digitization of the establishment and registration of capital companies, it should also be possible in the Netherlands to establish a BV online; this can be done through a digital deed. The Netherlands is working on implementation (currently scheduled for June 1, 2023) by aligning as much as possible with existing systems and the role of the notary. The question is being explored whether the SSI concept, combined with a Digital Wallet for a legal entity, can provide efficient support for the establishment process and perhaps even help when the entrepreneur is 'up and running' and engaging in economic transactions. This so-called 'Business Passport' has functions such as identity verification, digital signing, and the issuance and use of validated source data.
SSI Field Analysis by BZK (TNO, Innopay)
At the end of 2021, in response to a request from the Ministry of the Interior, an analysis of the SSI field in the Netherlands was published. This report shows that the development of SSI aligns with broader European developments, including the aforementioned eIDAS regulation. The analysis concludes with some strong conclusions and recommendations. It is stated that an integrated vision and ambitious implementation agenda are needed. Furthermore, there must be consolidation of the playing field through a broad Public-Private Partnership, and finally, the chicken-and-egg dilemma must be overcome by the government starting to offer data via SSI.
Together, all these international and national developments provide the impetus to jointly conduct research into what a digital enterprise identity could look like and what is needed for it.
