Utah mandates blockchain pilot for digital ID issuance

Utah’s Division of Technology Services has been tasked with piloting a blockchain system for Verifiable Credentials that can be used to issue digital ID, reports StateScoop.

The ‘Government Digital Verifiable Record Amendments’ bill signed into law by Governor Spencer Cox mandates the department to provide the state government with recommendations on how to issue digital ID, and report on its progress to do so by October.

Policies and procedures to protect personally identifying information (PII) will be considered, and the Division will consult with state privacy authorities.

The bill defines a “digital verifiable credential” as one issued or digitally signed by a government entity, which bears a digital signature and can be “mathematically” verified. It would also have the same legal status as an equivalent physical record. The W3C Recommendation is not explicitly referred to.

The move is in line with a recent policy discussion by the World Economic Forum’s Digital Identity Initiative at the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos.

Utah already issues mobile driver’s licenses from GET Group, which recently gained acceptance at some airports.

The U.S. business community has called for state governments to take charge of issuing digital IDs, and most so far are doing so through mDLs, but Utah stands out in requiring the use of a distributed ledger.

Article Topics

blockchain  |  digital ID  |  pilot project  |  Utah  |  verifiable credentials