Re: AW: The German Government slams JSON-LD

Hi,
the article isn’t a fair technical critique, it’s pushing a solution. It
exaggerates the risks of JSON-LD while ignoring standard solutions like
fixed/static contexts, etc. Removing embedded semantics doesn’t simplify
anything; it just pushes all the complexity into opaque, proprietary
rulebooks and governance layers. Presenting that as “simpler” is a cheap
rhetorical trick, it hides centralization, coordination overhead, reduced
interoperability, and effectively creates a lock-in around a controlled
ecosystem.

Here is the author’s LinkedIn post:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7432429270091657217/

Best
Filip
https://www.linkedin.com/in/filipkolarik/


On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 12:35 PM Anders Rundgren <
anders.rundgren.net@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> This was an example of "journalism" as it stands today.  That is, somewhat
> alarming messages and no finesse.
>
> Anyway, putting JSON-LD in wallets seems to be a problem.  Maybe the
> conclusions are wrong?
>
> Anders
>
> On 2026-02-27 12:04, carsten.stoecker@spherity.com wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > The subject line “The German Government slams JSON-LD” is not supported
> by the sources linked in the post.
> >
> > (1) The original message in this W3C mailing list thread only links to a
> Medium article. It does not quote any German government statement or
> publication.
> >
> > (2) The Medium article is authored by an individual on Medium. It is not
> an official publication of the German Federal Government.
> >
> >
> > (3) The author of the Medium article is publicly listed as working on
> the EUDI Wallet topic at SPRIND. SPRIND is the Federal Agency for
> Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIN-D). The Federal Government is the sole
> shareholder. This does not mean that a personal Medium post either
> represents SPRIND or an official German government position.
> >
> > (4) Germany uses JSON-LD in production public-sector data infrastructure
> today. Evidence:
> >
> >       + GovData’s metadata catalogue is available via endpoints “in RDF,
> Turtle and JSON-LD”
> >
> >       + IT-Planungsrat/GovData documentation describes harvesting
> DCAT-AP.de RDF endpoints, including RDF-XML, JSON-LD, and Turtle
> >
> >       + DCAT-AP.de documentation (Pflegehandbuch) references RDF/XML and
> JSON-LD conventions
> >
> >       + Mobilithek metadata upload documentation expects metadata as
> JSON-LD or RDF/XML
> >
> > (5) In European data sovereignty and space trust models, JSON-LD and W3C
> VC concepts are in active use (especially for machine-readable, semantic
> statements).
> >
> >       + Example: Gaia-X, Manufacturing-X and Caten-X (AND many data
> spaces in other European countries) credentials are described as W3C VCDM
> in JSON-LD
> >       + The same data space work describes EDC catalogue exchange as
> DCAT (dcat:Catalog) serialized as JSON-LD and Credential Exchange in DCP
> protocol in JSON-LD
> >
> > (6) Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC) a key connector implementation in
> this space and supported by the German Government’s R&D arm:
> https://github.com/eclipse-edc/Connector <
> https://github.com/eclipse-edc/Connector>
> >
> > There are differences between JSON-only credential formats (e.g., SD-JWT
> VC or ISO mdoc) and JSON-LD credentials with Data Integrity. B2B and B2G
> scenarios often require machine-processable semantics, policy enforcement,
> and provenance across many parties and systems, which can differ from
> typical citizen identity use cases. The community should assess these
> requirements case by case and choose architectures alternatives and
> credential profiles accordingly.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Carsten
> >
> > *Von:*Melvin Carvalho <melvincarvalho@gmail.com>
> > *Gesendet:* Freitag, 27. Februar 2026 07:25
> > *An:* Anders Rundgren <anders.rundgren.net@gmail.com>
> > *Cc:* W3C Credentials CG <public-credentials@w3.org>
> > *Betreff:* Re: The German Government slams JSON-LD
> >
> > pá 27. 2. 2026 v 7:04 odesílatel Anders Rundgren <
> anders.rundgren.net@gmail.com <mailto:anders.rundgren.net@gmail.com>>
> napsal:
> >
> >
> https://mmollik.medium.com/why-the-eudi-wallet-should-stop-pretending-it-needs-json-ld-in-credentials-a37d09a26d06
> <
> https://mmollik.medium.com/why-the-eudi-wallet-should-stop-pretending-it-needs-json-ld-in-credentials-a37d09a26d06
> >
> >
> > I appreciate the elegance of JSON-LD, but I recognize it can be too
> heavyweight for certain applications. That's why I sought a more
> lightweight alternative with Linked Objects.
> >
> > https://linkedobjects.org/ <https://linkedobjects.org/>
> >
> > I will be doing a new round of work on this, quite soon.
> >
> >
> >
> >     Anders
> >
> >
> >
> > Spherity GmbH <https://www.spherity.com/>|Emil-Figge-Straße 80|44227
> Dortmund
> >
> > LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/company/spherity>|YouTube <
> https://www.youtube.com/@spherity2407>
> >
> > Managing Directors: Dr. Carsten Stöcker, Dr. Michael Rüther
> >
> > Registered in Dortmund HRB 31566
> >
>
>
>