<s>
Self-sovereign	B-General_Concept
identity	I-General_Concept
(	O
SSI	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
approach	O
to	O
digital	B-Application
identity	I-Application
that	O
gives	O
individuals	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
information	O
they	O
use	O
to	O
prove	O
who	O
they	O
are	O
to	O
websites	O
,	O
services	O
,	O
and	O
applications	B-Application
across	O
the	O
web	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Without	O
SSI	O
,	O
individuals	O
with	O
persistent	O
accounts	O
(	O
identities	O
)	O
across	O
the	O
internet	O
must	O
rely	O
on	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
large	O
identity	O
providers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
(	O
Facebook	B-Application
Connect	O
)	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
(	O
Google	B-Application
Sign-In	O
)	O
,	O
that	O
have	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
information	O
associated	O
with	O
their	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Self-sovereign	B-General_Concept
identity	I-General_Concept
offers	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
avoid	O
these	O
two	O
undesirable	O
alternatives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
self-sovereign	B-General_Concept
identity	I-General_Concept
system	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
accesses	O
services	O
in	O
a	O
streamlined	O
and	O
secure	O
manner	O
,	O
while	O
maintaining	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
information	O
associated	O
with	O
their	O
identity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TCP/IP	B-Protocol
protocol	I-Protocol
provides	O
identifiers	O
for	O
machines	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
for	O
the	O
people	O
and	O
organisations	O
operating	O
the	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
blockchain	O
technology	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
model	O
for	O
decentralized	B-General_Concept
identity	I-General_Concept
emerged	O
in	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
FIDO	O
Alliance	O
proposed	O
an	O
identity	O
model	O
that	O
was	O
no	O
longer	O
account-based	O
,	O
but	O
identified	O
people	O
through	O
direct	O
,	O
private	O
,	O
peer-to-peer	O
connections	O
secured	O
by	O
public/private	B-Application
key	I-Application
cryptography	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Self-Sovereign	B-General_Concept
Identity	I-General_Concept
(	O
SSI	O
)	O
summarises	O
all	O
components	O
of	O
the	O
decentralized	B-General_Concept
identity	I-General_Concept
model	O
:	O
digital	O
wallets	O
,	O
digital	O
credentials	O
,	O
and	O
digital	O
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
SSI	O
system	O
,	O
holders	O
generate	O
and	O
control	O
unique	O
identifiers	O
called	O
decentralized	B-Protocol
identifiers	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
SSI	O
systems	O
are	O
decentralized	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
credentials	O
are	O
managed	O
using	O
crypto	B-Protocol
wallets	I-Protocol
and	O
verified	O
using	O
public-key	B-Application
cryptography	I-Application
anchored	O
on	O
a	O
distributed	O
ledger	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
European	O
Union	O
is	O
exploring	O
decentralized	O
digital	B-Application
identity	I-Application
through	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
initiatives	O
including	O
the	O
,	O
the	O
and	O
the	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EU	O
recently	O
created	O
an	O
eIDAS	O
compatible	O
European	O
Self-Sovereign	B-General_Concept
Identity	I-General_Concept
Framework	O
(	O
ESSIF	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ESSIF	O
makes	O
use	O
of	O
decentralized	B-Protocol
identifiers	I-Protocol
(	O
DIDs	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
European	O
Blockchain	O
Services	O
Infrastructure	O
(	O
EBSI	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Korean	O
government	O
created	O
a	O
public/private	O
consortia	O
specifically	O
for	O
decentralized	B-General_Concept
identity	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
