More US legislation would create hybrid digital IDs

Another U.S. state is considering a tentative path to mobile driver’s licenses.

Pennsylvania state lawmakers have introduced a bill in the lower house that would make digital IDs a publicly and privately recognized document in combination with a conventional physical document.

Holders of an mDL could filter the information displayed in a transaction.

Police would not have the authority to demand a phone as they do now with physical IDs.

Officers could not search a suspect’s phone without a warrant unless the person gave the phone up.

The legislation doesn’t address the legality of buying alcohol with a digital ID, something that the executive director of the state’s Liquor Control Board reportedly has asked lawmakers to address, according to reporting by Pittsburgh public radio station WESA.

That same report claims that IDEMIA’s business-development director has consulted with the state on mDLs. The IAM company, which is involved in multiple states’ digital ID programs, reportedly advised that Pennsylvania build its own app before considering integrating it with a vendor’s wallet.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  driver's license  |  identity document  |  legislation  |  mDL (mobile driver's license)  |  Pennsylvania  |  United States