Digital Identity Sector Upbeat After Meeting About GOV.UK Wallet

The AVPA, along with the Association of Digital Verification Professionals and the Online Safety Tech Industry Association, complained in an April letter to Peter Kyle, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, that they were blindsided by an announcement about the scheme. The announcement seemed to signal the government would compete directly with the private-sector digital ID market (see 2504220026).

The absence of a reference to the private market, or reassurance that nongovernmental digital IDs would remain equally viable, risked damaging the prospects for the technology, the associations wrote in the letter to Kyle.

However, at a May 14 meeting with members of the sector, Kyle apologized for the unintended impact of the wallet and digital driving license (DDL) scheme announcement, AVPA posted that day.

Kyle "was unapologetic that the government would issue credentials such as a DDL which he argues (reasonably) the public expects," AVPA's post said. However, it noted, Kyle said the government has no interest in how the private sector consumes and integrates with those credentials, and he is committed to joint development going forward.

Other government officials provided more details about the approach, the AVPA wrote. For instance, it appears that users will go through a certified digital verification service to use a government credential, so a DDL "becomes a source document for a trust framework digital ID, not used directly" at the checkout at a grocery store, for example.

"This is quite a significant announcement updating the vision set out in the original announcement," the AVPA said. The government also published guidance for using the wallet in the digital ID sector.

"Given that the UK government issuing a digital driving license was an inevitability, then the fact we learnt the legislation is constructed in such a way that the private sector may rely on that through a certified Digital Verification Service was a very positive outcome," Corby emailed Friday.

"The devil is in the detail," Corby added. Industry hopes the government will agree to its request to "create a joint steering committee to build and deliver the vision for digital ID in the UK."

Meanwhile, EU countries must begin offering a version of the EU Digital Identity Wallet by 2026.

Wallet users will be able to access public and private services, "extending the benefits of secure and convenient digital identity to the private sector," a European Commission spokesperson emailed earlier.

For some private services, acceptance of the wallet will be obligatory, particularly where strong assurance of customer identity is needed, the spokesperson said. Scenarios include making payments, opening bank accounts and certain use cases in the areas of transport, energy, social security, health, drinking water, postal services, digital infrastructure, education or telecommunications, she said.

Platforms designated as Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act must recognize the wallet, said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson wouldn't speculate about whether any legislation underlying the wallet, such as the General Data Protection Regulation, might be amended in light of the EU's regulatory streamlining initiative.