UK inches towards digital ID clarity with passage of Data (Use and Access) Bill

The UK House of Lords has passed the government’s Data (Use and Access) Bill, bringing it within a royal signature of establishing a legal basis for the country’s digital identity verification framework and governance.

Once it has received Royal Assent, the DAU Bill establishes the legal footing for the new Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which is responsible for certification to the Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF). The Bill provides a legal basis for the acceptance of digital verification. It also sets up further rule changes for how businesses can share non-personal and personal data, and amend UK GDPR with more flexible rules for automated decision-making and how international data transfers are assessed.

Once signed, the DAU Act 2025 will make the use of behavioral biometrics and analytics data like pixel-tracking and device fingerprinting subject to similar consent rules to browser cookies, and require online service providers to keep records related to children’s online safety, among other reforms.

What it does not do is introduce transparency requirements for the use of copyrighted material in training AI models, as amendments brought forward in the House of Lords failed, according to UKTN. The government will, however, produce an interim report on its proposals for copyrighted material and AI within six months of Royal Assent, and a final report three months later.

The Bill could be signed into law within a month.

Inquiry to explore next steps

An inquiry has been launched by the Home Affairs Committee to look into “Harnessing the potential of new digital forms of identification.”

The inquiry will focus on how digital ID can contribute to Home Office’s goals, its potential costs and risks.

“This inquiry will examine what benefits the introduction of new digital forms of ID could bring for reducing crime and managing migration,” the committee says. “It will explore concerns about privacy and security as well as the practical challenges to realising the potential benefits of digital ID.”

The committee poses seven questions, including about how effectively data is currently used by the government, what benefits could result from new government-issued digital IDs, and what kind of information such IDs should include. Respondents are also asked about privacy and data security risks, what capabilities Home Office and agencies will need to realize the intended benefits, how interactions between government bodies can be improved, and what can be learned from international examples.

“The debate around digital ID is growing and we want to find the best evidence for how digital ID could be used by the Home Office to implement its priorities,” says Committee Chair Dame Karen Bradley in the announcement. “We will be exploring the benefits and risks of digital ID systems as well as the practical challenges to their introduction.”

Evidence can be submitted from now until August 21.

Article Topics

Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUA)  |  Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  legislation  |  OfDIA  |  UK