UK groups call for government digital ID plan overhaul, limits for Gov.uk

UK digital identity industry groups are asking for the Gov.uk digital wallet and One Login single sign-on service to be limited by statute to public services, where they can compete with trust framework compliant digital IDs from the private sector. Further, digital credentials issued by the government, like mobile driver’s licenses, should support storage in any certified wallet.

Finally, the letter from the Age Verification Providers Association, the Online Safety Tech Industry Association, the Association of Digital Verification Professionals calls for the formation of a joint technical working group to foster collaboration between the government’s digital ID teams and the private sector.

The letter is addressed to Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle. Copies were also sent to the UK Treasury, in light of the potential cost taken on by the government, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Government Digital Service and the Office of Digital Identities and Attributes with DSIT.

The groups emphasize their support for the government’s digital identity ambitions, noting the sector contributes 2 billion pounds (US$2.7 billion) in revenue and 11,000 jobs to the economy. But they also share their alarm at the plans to make the Gov.uk digital wallet available for use cases previously left to the private sector.

“The absence of any reference to the thriving private market, or of reassurance that non-government digital IDs will remain equally viable, risks history repeating itself by damaging the prospects for this technology as a whole.”

The damage referred to includes “widespread uncertainty” shared by those providing age assurance technology and those investing in it. It also includes the risk of a government monopoly that stifles innovation and costs UK taxpayers billions of pounds by taking on the cost of transactions currently served by the private sector.

“These three trade bodies usually prefer to work quietly with officials as we patiently collaborate on the evolution of digital identities, but the very public announcement of the government’s plan to compete directly with the nascent private-sector market came without warning or consultation, and has had a significant, detrimental effect of both investment and trust across the sector,” AVPA Executive Director Iain Corby told Biometric Update in an email. “We need to alert the Secretary of State to the degree of consternation the new policy approach caused in time for reassurances to be put into statute while the Data Bill is still being considered by Parliament.”

Industry voices have also called for the government to abandon the Gov.uk wallet.

Article Topics

ADVP  |  AVPA  |  Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)  |  digital ID  |  Gov.UK  |  GOV.UK Wallet  |  One Login  |  OSTIA  |  UK  |  UK digital ID