What's the latest on Canada's WEF Digital ID?
Source: (
https://bit.ly/3Ccf9qT)
Since the Covid-19 Pandemic, a lot of our activities - be it working,
studying, shopping, paying bills, or playing - have increasingly
migrated to online platforms. With it has come the need for
increased vigilance and security, for risks such as fraud, scams,
identity theft, and the like have proliferated.
As 2023 is fast approaching, many Canadians are concerned about
how to securely navigate in this rapidly-evolving digital landscape.
Authentication, the process which involves properly identifying
individuals, varies greatly across services such as for banking,
obtaining services from government institutions, receiving customer
support, and so on. Some are painless, while others can be downright
annoying and frustrating.
Biometrics - which involves identifying people through their unique
physical attributes such as fingerprints, facial or voice
recognition - are on the rise. But many view these as intrusive and
do not wish to have their personal biometric information collected,
stored, or shared between various parties.
As of now, there are no clear sets of standards and features that
envelop Digital IDs.
There are currently many potential ways in which a Digital ID can
be developed and used in Canada by different parties to serve various
purposes.
The first and most important player in the development of a Digital
ID is the Government of Canada, for it wants to streamline the way
it authenticates individuals to securely access its services.
Inevitably, many partners from the private sector are already
contracted for consultation and development of a Digital ID.
It remains to be seen whether or not a, catch-all, National Digital
ID will emerge, or if there will be different ones suited for
different purposes.
And we must not exclude a possible linkage whereby IDs become
linked to peoples' CBDC wallets which will inevitably arrive in the
next few years.
For now, there seems to be two major players involved in the
conception, design, and development of a Canadian Digital ID.
The first one is the Digital Identification and Authentication
Council of Canada, or DIACC, a non-profit coalition of private and
public sector participants.
The second major player is a Canadian private corporation called
Trulioo. This tech outfit has many key partners, including Equifax
and TransUnion, two of Canada's biggest credit-rating agencies, and
provides a wide range of verification services, such as Age
Verification and Know Your Customer (KYC), for government and
businesses.
The help build trust, these two outfits are collaborating on the
Pan-Canadian Trust Framework.
On the matter, Canada's Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne
said: "The development and implementation of a digital ID ecosystem
is a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate how innovation and privacy
protection can coexist."
"Government should be open and transparent enough about the defined
purposes of the digital identity systems, what personal information
will be used, how and by whom," added the commissioner.
One potential roadblock to building this trust, however, stems from
the fact that Trulioo is affiliated with the World Economic Forum
(WEF) - who many regard with suspicion and disdain.
Privacy, security, and choice figure among some of the top concerns
Canadians have which DIACC is currently evaluating.
Not only are Canadians distrustful of many private entities, but even
in government institutions. According to the Edelman 2022 Canadian
Trust Barometer, only 53 per cent of Canadians trust government
organizations.
Another major concern is that a national Digital ID may present
a barrier to international travel.
A Known Traveller Digital Identity (KDTI) pilot program was
launched in 2018 by the World Economic Forum in which the
Government of Canada and Trudeau Montreal Airport figure as
partners. Some worry that their vaccination status or other personal
factors may hinder their mobility rights.
