Digital ID, censorship fears grow as Canada, EU sign new pact

Canada and the European Union are teaming up on controversial new digital agreements covering everything from artificial intelligence to digital identity and media censorship.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Canada and the European Union are teaming up on controversial new digital agreements covering everything from artificial intelligence to digital identity and media censorship. The move has sparked immediate warnings from civil-liberties groups about a looming threat to privacy and online freedom.

The agreements were announced Monday in Montreal during the first meeting of the EU–Canada Digital Partnership Council, held alongside the G7 Industry, Digital and Technology Ministerial meeting.

The Council was co-chaired by EU Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Canada’s Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon.

In a joint statement, both sides said the initiative aims to “boost competitiveness, innovation and economic resilience.” Specific commitments include developing “trustworthy artificial intelligence technologies that respect fundamental rights” and accelerating AI adoption across healthcare, manufacturing, energy, culture and public services.

To advance this work, Canada and the EU signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Artificial Intelligence. It will support joint standards development, expand research collaboration and create shared access to large AI infrastructures and computing capacity.

They also agreed to create a structured dialogue on data spaces used to train advanced AI models.

A second memorandum, focused on digital credentials and trust services, commits the two jurisdictions to explore interoperability between digital identity systems. This includes pilot testing, technical standards and “solutions based on digital identity wallets,” according to the EU summary of the agreement.

The EU said the partnership marks “a significant step in strengthening our cooperation to build the economy of tomorrow,” with Virkkunen noting that “no single region can face the digital transformation alone.”

Solomon said the initiative reflects long-standing ties between the two partners, adding: “The Canada-EU relationship is based on shared values and interests, a long history of close cooperation and strong people-to-people ties. Through the Digital Partnership, Canada and the EU are shaping a digital future that benefits people, grows the economy and builds trust between countries.”

The section of the agreement dealing with digital identity systems has drawn criticism from constitutional rights advocates.

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms said in a post on X that cooperation on “digital credentials and trust services… including solutions based on digital identity wallets” represents a step toward a nationwide digital identification regime. The group warned that the framework risks “pushing citizens into a Digital ID system that will control and track our money and reduce our freedom.”

The partnership also includes working together on ‘supporting independent media, combating foreign information manipulation and addressing risks posed by generative AI’.