It is not only Russia, and Austria which are rolling out the Digital ID, among other countries. Even the UK is moving toward a single digital identity.
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is bringing the ambitious GOV.UK One Login program—a digital identity service—to light after more than two years of largely silent launch. The program’s goal and current status were recently explained by Tom Read, Chief Executive of GDS, and Natalie Jones, Director for Digital Identity. They characterized the program as a revolutionary change meant to facilitate the public’s engagement with government services.
Though they seem efficient and provide easy identity verification, centralized digital ID systems raise serious privacy and civil liberties issues. Every person’s personal information is collected by a centralized system into a single repository, making it a more valuable target for hackers and raising the possibility of data breaches. These systems might also make it possible for people to be tracked and surveilled excessively, endangering their freedom and privacy.
Through an app or web channel, users can authenticate their identities for a variety of central government services with the One Login system. Passports, driver’s licenses, biometric residency permits, and knowledge-based verification all speed up the process. Additionally, the app lets users confirm their identities by comparing a selfie to the picture on their passport.
The service has improved since it was launched, with 2.15 million app downloads and over 819,000 accounts created. So far, the system has been implemented by eight government agencies, such as the Disclosure and Barring Service and the Home Office’s Modern Slavery Statement Registry.
With intentions to incorporate additional services like Companies House, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the veterans’ identity card, the system has also charted a positive course for the upcoming year. In addition, a call center for user support and an in-person identity verification process are scheduled to launch in the upcoming months.
A major change is anticipated by spring of the following year when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the IRS equivalent in the UK, will begin directing new users to One Login and starting the process of migrating existing accounts from the Government Gateway. The “vast bulk” of government services are expected to be integrated into One Login by the end of March 2025, with over 100 services anticipated to be operational by then.
If the General Registry Office digitizes its records, One Login will be able to accept additional documents for identity verification, such as birth certificates. Using sets of questions from HMRC data and the Department for Work and Pensions for knowledge-based verification is another aspect.
