General area |
National ID cards have made news headlines again after former prime minister Sir Tony Blair called for the new prime minister Keir Starmer to "plan to control immigration” and suggested that digital ID technology offered the best solution to controlling irregular immigration.
Commenting on the recent headlines, Nick Mothershaw Chief Identity Strategist at the Open Identity Exchange, a non-profit focused on making sure digital ID works safely and fairly for everyone involved, said:
“There is a misconception that in order for people to prove who they are digitally and with trust, there must be a central national ID database or that we must all have a government issued national ID card. This is not the case at all. A well-designed digital ID can be issued by a certified private sector provider and stored in a person’s own ‘digital wallet’ for them to control who it is shared with, without the ability for any one organisation or government to follow their movements. The UK’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework is key to helping us get to this position.
“It’s vital that misconceptions about digital ID being national ID cards do not stall its progress in the UK, as digital ID has the potential to drive huge economic growth through the UK's digital economy, beyond its immediate benefits. We urge the new government quickly enact into law the proposed Digital Verification Service (DVS) legislation that supports the use of trusted digital ID so that the UK can move forward with its digital ID strategy.”