Governments have been exploring the concept of a national digital ID for decades, with the goal of providing citizens with streamlined access to a wide range of government services.
In a significant development, the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) of the federal government is gearing up to launch a National Digital ID, according to cyber security research fellow Patrick Scolyer-Gray.
China is cracked for rolling this out wtf❗️#petedavidson #china #digitalID #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/ynJA5iXuwS
— Lebomemes101 (@lebomemes101) September 14, 2023
But here's the catch: some folks are worried about what this might mean. While it sounds great in theory, there are concerns that the National Digital ID could leave certain groups out and could cause privacy and security issues.
The DTA hasn't officially called it a National Digital ID yet. Instead, they've made two digital identities available through something called the Trusted Digital Identity Framework.
According to a DTA spokesperson, the goal is to make it easy for Australians to access government services online. That sounds good, right? Well, not everyone thinks so.
Critics say that requiring people to use a digital service to access benefits or resources could end up excluding some folks. This might include people with disabilities, elderly citizens, and folks with lower incomes.
These examples can be shown in Ireland. Ireland created a digital ID and used it to distribute social benefits, working-class and disabled people were excluded.
Another worry is that as the government collects and shares more data, there's a bigger risk of data breaches and privacy problems. Hackers and third-party companies could misuse our personal information, and that's not good.
Example: Baltimore lost control of its government services for weeks after a 2019 “ransomware” attack, which cost the city over $18 million in recovery spending and lost revenue.
There's also the concern that the National Digital ID could lead to more surveillance and data collection, especially for communities that already face unfair treatment.
Example: The Los Angeles digitized financial aid card puts undocumented residents at risk, by sharing data with companies that sell people’s information to ICE.
Other countries are already rolling it forward, what do we think? do we trust it or no!
