“People are increasingly looking for ways to digitize their everyday objects, and the most common request is for a digital identity.”
Google, which owns the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, web browser and app store, plans to launch Reclaim the Net. explain Digital ID is said to be “one of the most controversial technologies in the world.” Jenny Chen, vice president and general manager of Google Wallet, said in a developer blog: Announcement of plans It is exploring the introduction of a new type of digital ID based on U.S. passports, an effort currently in beta testing that Chen said was a response to grassroots demand rather than an attempt by Google to further expand its massive influence in everyday life.
People are increasingly looking for ways to digitize their everyday objects, and the most common request is for a digital ID. Last year, we started rolling out our digital ID. Store your state-issued digital ID of choice in your walletGoogle Wallet will soon begin beta testing a new type of digital ID, allowing more people to create and store digital IDs in more places, including U.S. passports. This new ID pass will: Select TSA checkpointSave time and stress at the airport when traveling domestically.
Beyond TSA checkpoints, Chen said Google is working with “partners” to expand the scope of digital ID to a growing number of situations, including car rentals, account recovery, and age and identity verification. As this 2018 infographic from the World Economic Forum shows, the potential uses, online and offline, are nearly endless.
Google users can also create an ID Pass by selecting the “Create an ID Pass with your US Passport” option in the Google Wallet app. Getting started is incredibly easy: just scan the security chip on the back of your passport, take a selfie video to verify your identity, and your Google ID Pass will be ready to use within minutes.
No more need for a physical wallet
The “origin trial” of this new technology involves what the developers are calling a new web platform API (“digital credentials”) that will allow sites to request verifiable information from digital wallets (such as national ID cards or driver’s licenses) via digital credentials. Once the system is fully operational and the necessary government legislation is in place, the phone will be nearly fully functional. Spout “We’re excited to bring the power of blockchain to the world,” Alan Stapelberg, group product manager for Google Wallet, said in a separate blog post.
Imagine starting your vacation like this: You arrive at the airport, hold your phone over a reader to scan your boarding pass and ID, and walk effortlessly through security. While you wait to board, grab a drink at the airport bar and prove your age by holding your phone over it. When you arrive at your destination, find your rental car and drive off in the parking lot – there’s no need to stop for an in-person ID check because you’ve already provided the necessary information in the rental car app. You check into your hotel online, and your keys are issued directly to your digital wallet. All of this can be done on your smartphone, no physical wallet required.
This may seem futuristic, but it could soon become a reality. In fact, today People with certain state-issued identification in the United States Google Wallet lets you get through TSA checkpoints at dozens of U.S. airports by showing your ID…
Google isn’t the only tech company dreaming of a world without physical wallets. But what happens if your phone is lost or stolen? Or if it stops working or runs out of battery? Or if there’s a global IT outage that shakes the digital world into a frenzy, like the recent CrowdStrike crash? Or if there’s a natural disaster, like the recent one? typhoon What do you think about Typhoon Yagi, which hit China’s Hainan province and caused power outages that lasted for several hours?
Brussels leads the way
Chen said apps such as Google Wallet can already be used for mobile driver licenses (mDLs) in many U.S. states, including California and Arizona, and he noted that the EU’s eIDAS 2.0 is driving online verification efforts.
Unbeknownst to the vast majority of EU citizens, digital IDs have become legal in 27 countries since March. From our article: Greece offered a glimpse into how “voluntary” EU digital identity wallets could gradually become mandatory.:
EU regulations require all member states to offer digital identity wallets to all citizens who want one. The new system is currently being marketed as an option for citizens who want to take advantage of its many benefits. The wallets can store people’s first and last names, date and place of birth, gender and nationality, and can be used to help Europeans identify themselves online. Touted benefits include easier access to public and private sector services across EU borders, streamlining bureaucracy and reducing the risk of digital fraud and other cybercrimes.
Given that digital identity has the potential to change many aspects of EU citizens’ lives, for better or for worse (I’d definitely bet on the latter), one might think this would be big news, but there has been silence in both mainstream and social media.
An “economy-wide” digital ID system
Australia has also passed legislation aimed at introducing an “economy-wide” digital ID system, and its Treasurer, Katie Gallagher, has touted the benefits of the system while insisting that, like vaccine certificates, it will be 100% voluntary. As one X user put it, “It’s voluntary in the short term, but mandatory in the long term.”
The option to use digital IDs means that in the future, people won’t need to share copies of their ID documents when applying for a rental property, signing up for a new phone plan, enrolling their children in sports, accessing government services, and more. pic.twitter.com/RJfapO6ZM8
— Katie Gallagher (@SenKatyG) April 2, 2024
In the United States, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) now accepts mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) as identification at airports, and an increasing number of states are adopting mDLs. State-sponsored apps or Apple and Google Wallets.
In late 2023, a number of civil rights groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), submitted comments to the TSA questioning the need for such a rush to implement and enforce the mDL.
Privacy safeguards are still lacking and each state will implement them in its own way. The TSA’s proposed waiver process will further fragment mDL development, making it more likely that some implementations will be better than others. Happened With digital vaccine credentials.
Another concern is that the standards referenced in TSA’s proposed rule are subject to private, closed groups such as the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) and the ISO process that produced their specifications. 18013–5:2021These standards are not based on sufficient transparency and public scrutiny. Moreover, there are other standards being more openly discussed that could lead to greater interoperability. The lack of guidance on provisioning, storage, and privacy protection approaches is also a major concern. Privacy should not be an afterthought, and a “fail fast” model should not be followed when it comes to such sensitive information.
Calling for an end to online anonymity
Google isn’t the only big tech company looking to expand its digital identity services. Reported Online influencers who create revenue-generating content on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, received notice that they have until July 1 to pass identity checks. Many users, especially those with liberal (in the classical sense) sensibilities, were outraged. After all, Elon Musk himself had previously promised that the X platform would protect anonymous users.
Twitter/X users’ concerns were further heightened when they discovered that the company responsible for the facial recognition matching was none other than AU10TIX, a company with deep ties to Israeli intelligence, raising fears that their data would be shared with the agency. AU10TIX is also a leading global player in the fast-emerging digital identity industry. In July, AU10TIX Inadvertently exposed A set of admin credentials for social media users who have been online for more than a year.
But when it comes to digital identity, few figures in the tech industry have played a bigger role in driving its adoption than Bill Gates. His non-profit, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has funded many NGOs and multilateral financial institutions that have helped countries in the Global South develop digital identity systems. He is also a strong supporter of India’s Aadhaar, the world’s largest digital identity system, despite its obvious flaws. Privacy and security flaws.
“We have provided funding to the World Bank to bring this Aadhaar scheme to other countries,” Gates said. said of Times of India in 2018. “Aadhaar itself is simply a biometric ID authentication scheme, so privacy issues do not arise.”
Gates is now Advertise Digital identity and verification are necessary tools to combat online misinformation and anonymity.
“The United States is a tough country because concept (NC: Interesting choice of words.) It doesn’t fit into any provision of the First Amendment, and what exceptions are there like yelling ‘fire’ in a theater?,” Gates explained in a recent speech. Interview He teamed up with CNET to promote the new Netflix series: “I think that as time goes on, with things like deepfakes coming out, you’re going to want to spend most of your time online in an environment where people are really identified, meaning they’re connected to a real-world identity that you can trust, rather than people just saying whatever they want.”
Eric Schmidt made a similar statement. Editorial In an article in MIT Technology Review about combating online election misinformation, the former Google CEO stressed the need to “distinguish between the humans and bots using social media, and hold both accountable when they violate our laws and policies.”
In Spain, the government of Pedro Sánchez is working on developing a digital age verification system to prevent minors from accessing pornographic sites. The proposed digital wallet would not only block minors from accessing pornographic sites, but would also limit the number of times adult users can access the sites.
we Reported At that time, there will be many workarounds that porn users (both adults and minors) can use to circumvent the proposed restrictions. However, I believe the real purpose is not to protect children from the insidious influence of online pornography, as advertised, but to begin the process of initiating digital identity wallets that are widely available to the public. In other words, in the not-too-distant future, to use any Internet program, platform, or application, you will need a digital ID or your access may be blocked.
But the potential applications of digital ID in the real and virtual worlds go far beyond that, including as a necessary precursor to central bank digital currencies. “Adoption of digital ID will truly grow when everyday use cases like driving a car or picking up a prescription can be performed with a digital ID,” Stapelberg says.
“In a future where digital IDs will allow you to file your taxes online, sign a mortgage, open a bank account, apply for health benefits, and more, all from your phone. The industry is working to make this a reality…
This takes time; legislation, hardware updates, and behavioral changes don’t happen overnight. We’re working with different parts of the ecosystem, including companies designing hardware for ID acceptance, to accelerate in-person adoption. Of course, digital IDs can also be used to verify identity online (for example, when renting a car from an app or ordering an age-restricted item online). This is a use case that can potentially scale much more quickly.”
