Yoti Lauds UK Government’s Ethical Stance on Digital Identity

Yoti is praising the Digital Identity: Consultation Response that was recently issued by the UK government. The Response details the government’s current stance on digital identity, and provides more information about what kinds of digital identity initiatives it could pursue moving forward.

In that regard, Yoti was particularly pleased with the emphasis on principles, which covers essential civil protections like privacy, transparency, and inclusivity, as well as technical concerns like interoperability and proportionality. Yoti has repeatedly reiterated its own commitment to ethical biometrics principles, and maintains a Guardian Council to make sure that those principles are being followed.

The government went on to suggest that it will pass new legislation that would allow digital IDs to be used in more situations. According to Yoti, such legislation is important because broad applications will boost adoption rates and help normalize the technology. On that front, the company advised the government to modify the restriction on digital IDs for the sale of alcohol, and to make changes that were introduced in response to COVID-19 permanent ID policy.

Finally, the Response indicates that the UK will open up more data sources. The Document Checking Service pilot that is now in progress is limited to passport data, but Yoti argues that it should allow for data to be checked against more sources in order to crack down on fraud.

Despite the praise, Yoti did criticize the government for failing to include any specific timelines. The company believes that digital ID policy needs to be updated as quickly as possible, but it is not yet clear which government departments are actually responsible for moving that legislation forward. Any policy efforts could become mired in a bureaucratic quagmire if no agency is willing to take on that challenge.

This is not the first time that Yoti has called attention to the UK’s digital ID policies. In August, the company argued that the government should place a greater emphasis on self-service age verification options.

(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)