Onfido to deliver biometric identity verification for Agora’s online voting platform

Onfido has teamed up with Agora to develop frictionless biometric e-voting through blockchain and AI technologies that would guarantee user data security and online privacy, the company announced.

Under the partnership, Agora will integrate Onfido’s biometric identity verification solution with its blockchain-based e-voting platform. Through the proprietary technology in Onfido’s SDK, voters can now show a photo of their government-issued ID and a selfie to verify their identity through a smartphone or a voting machine. The AI behind the solution will confirm the ID is authentic and match it through biometric data-points.

“ID management is the backbone of any voting system and requires complex KYC technology and ethical practices,” said Leonardo Gammar, CEO and founder of Agora. “We believe that the best way for an election technology provider to demonstrate their integrity in data collection is to limit their access to data management. At Agora, we anonymize and shuffle ballots but also choose not to deal directly with voters’ IDs. Because Onfido shares our same key values and strong principles on privacy and data protection, we are perfectly aligned to take on and modernize the voting industry.”

“Our mission is to create a more open world, where identity is the key to access,” said Husayn Kassai, CEO and co-founder of Onfido. “By partnering with Agora we’re able to open up voting to more people in more countries, making it more accessible, transparent and friction-free, and in turn, modernizing the democratic process.”

Agora’s online voting system has already been used in the Sierra Leone presidential race in 2018, when, the company claims, the ballots could not have been manipulated due to the use of blockchain technology. The company says its platform can stop fraud and correction, cut down costs and make voting more appealing to citizens, especially those in remote locations.

In July, Agora joined Onfido’s Partner Program, focused on bringing biometric identity verification services to new markets.

Article Topics

artificial intelligence  |  blockchain  |  elections  |  facial recognition  |  identity management  |  identity verification  |  Onfido  |  voting