How can Governments do Digital Identity Right?

I highly recommend that everyone read the “Human-Centric Digital Identity: for Government Officials” whitepaper that Elizabeth Garber and Mark Haine have written, even if you aren’t in government. Published by the OpenID Foundation and co-branded by twelve non-profit organisations, this paper offers a broad view of the global digital identity landscape, key considerations for government officials, and the path ahead to global interoperability. It is also grounded in the key role that digital identity plays in the wider international human rights agenda and the recent OECD Digital Identity Recommendations.

It is really difficult to write about digital identity when trying to put humanity (not individuals) AND society at the center. This paper is a very strong and considerate effort to try and tackle a broad, complicated, but important topic.

Elizabeth was kind enough to acknowledge me in the paper because of our shared viewpoint and discussions on how Value-Sensitive Design and Human-Centric Design are key cogs in building ethical and inclusive digital identity systems. But what she and Mark have tackled goes far beyond what I am able to do, and I do hope to see their work have a big impact on all the Identirati currently engaged in shaping the future of Digital Credentials and Digital Identity.