Maldives releases digital ID draft legislation for public feedback

Government stakeholders, the business community, industry actors and members of the general public in Maldives have until June 15 to submit comments to the first draft of the country’s Digital Identity Bill.

Public media outlet PSM reports that the draft legislation, released for public feedback on June 8, is part of Maldives 2.0, a digital transformation and ID upgrade project with funding support from the World Bank. It is also part of the Digital Maldives for Adaptation, Decentralization and Diversification (DMADD) initiative.

Comments are being submitted in Word or PDF format to the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology (MoHST) using a template provided for the purpose, specifying the section of the Bill, comments, and the changes being proposed.

DMADD issued instructions on how to comment, mentioning that those interested in providing feedback are advised to substantiate their comments with detailed explanations, while citing clear sources.

The instructions indicate that in the interest of transparency, the MoHST will make all submissions received available to the public, but requests for confidentiality of comments must be clearly indicated and justified, with both confidential and non-confidential versions provided, as the case may be.

What’s the Bill about?

The draft Bill put out for public critique establishes the Maldives Digital Identity System (MDIDS) with a mandate to operationalize digital ID registration and authentication in the Republic of Maldives.

It seeks to achieve five major objectives, the first of which is to provide eligible persons with unique, secure, convenient, voluntary, legally recognized and inclusive ways to authenticate their identity in online transactions and in in-person verification.

It also aims to promote privacy and the security of identity data used for authentication, facilitate economic benefits through increased online transactions using digital ID, promote trust in digital ID transactions and services, as well as provide consideration for the future of digital ID given the rapidity of technological evolution.

The MDIDS is part of efforts by the Maldives government to build digital public infrastructure that includes a digital payments system in the model of India’s UPI.

The country also faces challenges with illegal migrant workers, which has pushed the government to opt for expulsion of those who do not comply with a biometric identification imperative.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  legislation  |  Maldives  |  Maldives Digital Identity System (MDIDS)