The new Digital Green Certificate
The EU Digital Covid certificate (Digital Green Certificate) is scheduled to come into use on July 1, 2021. The certificate is intended to make it possible to move freely within the EU once again. Within the member states, the certificate is also expected to allow access to public events and gastronomy. The certificate will complement and not replace the national passport, such as the yellow vaccination passport in Germany. However, it is up to each country to require additional health documents.
At the national level, software will be developed to meet the requirements of such a certificate. In parallel, a European gateway will be developed. This gateway will then be installed in a data center in Luxembourg. Countries such as Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein will also connect to the platform.
The certificate will document vaccination status, who has already recovered from a Covid-19 infection and it will also be able to record negative PCR tests. At the vaccination centers or doctors’ offices, personal data such as name, date of birth and vaccination date of the person concerned will be digitally recorded and signed with the digital signature key of the issuing body (hospital, test centre, etc.). The issued certificate contains a QR code with a digital signature to protect against falsification. During border control, the data stored and encrypted in the certificate should not be transmitted, but only the validity of the crypto keys is checked. To do this, the checking apps contact the EU gateway server in Luxembourg and query there whether the key stored in the QR code is reported as valid there. If this is the case, the checking app displays green as well as the name and date of birth of the traveler, who must therefore also present an identification document such as a passport. The participating EU countries, represented by the designated national authorities or official bodies are considered as joint controllers of the processing in the gateway and must therefore provide users with adequate information about the processing of their personal data in the European federation gateway in accordance with Article 13 of the GDPR.
Data protectionists criticize that the digital certificate and the collected data could be used by member states to create movement profiles of those affected. Central storage would also increase the risk of a hacker attack.
