Government moves closer to approving digital IDs
The government has set out its vision for digital identification with a view to introducing new legislation later this year.
Lord Holmes has been pushing for action on distributed digital identity for several years and raised the topic once again with the government in the House of Lords today (20 May).
This follows the publication of a draft framework on a digital identification in February.
In response to questions on the topic, Baroness Barran, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport (Conservative), said the digital ID would allow for one login to access all government services She added that it would be secure and a beta version will be launched first.
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“In 2020 the government committed to creating a framework of standards, governance and legalisation to enable the UK digital ID market,” Baroness Barran said in the House of Lords.
“We are working at pace and have made significant progress since our response to the call for evidence in September and the clue is in the name, the absolute fundamental of the trust framework is that citizens can trust how their digital ID is used.
“I would absolutely agree a secure and trusted digital framework can help reduce data breaches and identity fraud.
“We have taken this very transparent approach with the publication of the trust framework, there will be a second iteration published this summer and further work legislatively later this year.
“The government is committed to realising the benefits of these opportunities albeit without creating ID cards. My minister for digital infrastructure and the parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet Office are working closely together as both the trust framework and sign on are needed so users can control their data in line with the principles we published in response to the 2019 call for evidence.”
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Lord Holmes welcomed the announcements regarding the next iteration of the framework and the consultation on legislation but said he would have liked a firmer commitment on pilots and will continue “encouraging the government to prioritise such a key policy area”.
“The department for digital, culture, media and sport is doing good work, in establishing a trust framework for digital identity, but I would like to see more speed, and a sandbox approach with several proofs of concept getting underway, not least in the financial services sector,” Lord Holme told Peer2Peer Finance News.
“There is a real prize for the UK here, for us as individuals, corporate and all entities, to trade, to trust, to claim and verify, to lead when it comes to distributed digital ID.”