News in Brief

Cross-Border Digital ID Interoperability

The Nordic and Baltic Ministers of Digitalisation have announced an effort to ensure that member countries’ residents will be able to use their digital IDs across borders. That could open the door to a digital identity system such as Denmark’s MitID being used to access online services in, for example, Sweden.

‘High adoption and usage of electronic identity (eID) paired with reliable population registries and strong identity governance procedures are common features for the countries in our region,’ the ministers explained in a joint statement. ‘These features have resulted in mature digital infrastructures. This enables seamless and secure access for residents of the region to thousands of both public and private online services.’ 

The regional group includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. Digital identity authorities in the member countries will work with their counterparts to ensure that identity matching can be performed reliably across borders.

Denmark, for one, has shown considerable enthusiasm for the effort. In a statement, that country’s Minister for Digitization, Marie Bjerre, noted that while there are currently various barriers preventing Danes from using the country’s mobile ID in other Nordic and Baltic countries, the new cross-border effort will see those barriers removed.

‘We can, through cooperation with the Nordic and Baltic countries show the rest of Europe how we can use digital solutions in practice across national borders, for the benefit of all of us,’ she said.

The Nordic and Baltic Ministers of Digitalisation’ new initiative is the latest sign of their countries’ commitment to digital and mobile ID innovation. They also comprise the members of a major consortium, dubbed NOBID (Nordic-Baltic eID), that is working with European Union authorities on the proposed European Digital Identity Wallet.

Sri Lanka to Run New Digital ID Tender

The tender to build the platform for Sri Lanka’s digital national identity card project will be re-floated after the Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (CAPC) disqualified the two companies that had submitted bids.

Officially known as the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) Project, the scheme is being partly financed through a grant by the Indian government following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in March last year. Only Indian companies are eligible to bid for the project under the terms of the MoU.

The tender for the procurement of a ‘Master System Integrator (MSI) for the Sri Lanka SL-UDI Project of the Government of Sri Lanka’ was first advertised in May this year by the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA).

Problems arose from the outset owing to several abrupt changes to the deadline for submitting bids, culminating on 31 July when the deadline for submission of bids was changed for the fifth and final time to 2 August.

The abrupt changes to the deadline left prospective bidders confused and frustrated, a source with knowledge of the bidding process told The Sunday Times of Sri Lanka. The source also claimed that prospective bidders were not provided with enough clarification for the many Requests for Proposals (RFP) clauses in the bid document, and requests to amend a number of tender conditions that were deemed too restrictive were rejected.

UNDP and SIA Announce Global Partnership

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) have announced a global partnership to assist developing countries in implementing, strengthening and expanding their digital identity systems.

The partnership is committed to promoting open standards and interoperability, ensuring a fair environment and preventing dependence on a single vendor or technology – an approach that aligns with best practices in public procurement. By joining forces, the organisations aim to foster innovation, seamlessly integrate digital tools, and guarantee online system access for everyone, ensuring no one is left behind without proof of identity.

SIA Chairman Didier Trutt said embracing open standards can empower governments to harness the full power of digital technologies. ‘Through this new collaboration with UNDP, we hope to contribute to a future of inclusive access, boundless innovation, and brighter prospects for societies worldwide,’ he said.

Digital identity systems provide a way to register people and record important life events like births and deaths. UNDP’s Digital Governance Innovation and Transformation Programme (DGIT) is also introducing new features to these systems, such as specific tools for managing legal cases, health, and banking needs. The system is flexible, so each country can tweak it to fit their requirements. As an open-source system provided with training, it is cost-effective, allowing governments to allocate scarce resources to other priorities.

SIA and its members have been contributing to the development of open standards for years globally and as such are able to provide technical advice on open standards and interoperability.

Also, SIA launched an open initiative in 2019, with the support of the identity industry and a Governmental Advisory Committee to develop a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to create interoperability amongst identity management system building blocks.

UK’s First Digital Proof of Age Card

The card has been launched by digital identity platform Luciditi with convenience stores set to be part of a testing programme.

Age Proof has been designed to safeguard young people needing to verify their age and is accredited by the Home Office-endorsed Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS).

The move towards digital could potentially be well received by young people, with 94% of respondents in favour of a digital form of ID that they can use on their phone, according to an auditor community survey by Serve Legal, the UK age-verification auditing specialist.

A further 90% felt it would be more desirable than carrying a physical ID card such as a driving licence or passport.

Age Proof cards can be accessed via a smartphone app and use QR technology to provide real-time verification – offering speed, convenience and greater data protection to young people aged 16+ and 18+.

The 16+ digital cards provide a range of benefits, including allowing this age group to legally purchase energy drinks and over-the-counter medication such as paracetamol. The 18+ card includes features such as the purchase of cigarettes or vapes.

The only current restriction on the card is that the Licensing Act for the sale of alcohol only allows physical cards bearing the PASS hologram and logo as acceptable proof of age when purchasing alcohol. Changes to the law are anticipated in 2024 which will add digital PASS and make it permittable to buy alcohol using Age Proof.