Governments around the world are increasingly making registration in national digital ID systems mandatory for populations, justifying its need on a range of issues from facilitating access to services, to national security and fighting against corruption. This is an attempt to create a “foundational identity” for an individual, or “a single source of truth” about who someone is, according to a government agency. These identity systems are run by governments, sometimes by private companies, or by a combination of both.

ID systems are the gatekeepers to access an increasingly-wide range of goods and services, resulting in potential limitation of the exercise of a range of human rights. The ID system designer or manager not only has control over what people have access to, but may also make the use of the system mandatory.

While governments and other proponents of ID systems highlight their potential benefits, little attention and public debate has focused on the potential harm that come from the implementation of such systems.

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Privacy International. (2021, October 26). Digital national ID systems: Ways, shapes and forms. https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4656/digital-national-id-systems-ways-shapes-and-forms