I am glad that the first eID vote we had on this (in Switzerland) prevented private industry from issuing IDs etc.
What we have now (upcoming, after another vote) is an open source[1] non centralized eID issued by the government.[2]
Although there are still some problematic points (initial issuance software is not open source and who can ask for the ID is not limited enough) the solution we have now is the best way to do such a thing at this time.
I am very much thank you. I'm still waiting for Apple to support the driver's license from my state. It will be one less thing to carry.
There are literally no downsides. My state already had me in its electronic database because I'm a driver. The TSA already has me in its electronic database. Apple already knows exactly who I am from my many credit card purchases with them. It's not taking away any privacy. Having my ID on my phone gives me convenience and doesn't take anything away.
Obviously this isn't mandatory nor should it be. Physical IDs aren't going anywhere. But I already keep all my credit cards in my Apple Wallet. I want to keep my driver's license there too.
You have no issues with handing over your cell phone to a police officer who pulls you over? I imagine you'll say "all I have to do is present an ID", but what if the officer cannot read it, so he wants to hold it? Okay you wont let him hold it, so he bends down and gets real close to your phone? You know he must verify the address against his database, so you're going to make him write down your address as he walks back to his car? Yea some people cannot afford this type of friction when dealing with police officers.
Places that support Apple's digital ID / Wallet state ID do so by utilizing a an identity reader that the user taps their phone against after selecting which info they want to convey. It is not meant for the owner to physically show the phone to the requesting party.
I'm sure this will happen in some cases especially in the interim where digital ID is technically not accepted but the person doesn't have their physical ID. An example would be a traffic stop in a state that currently supports digital state ID since usually the digital ID is basically only supported at TSA currently. But the cop looking at your phone doesn't add any more authenticity vs you just verbalizing the info and them writing it down which is what they usually do if someone has a photo of their missing ID.
Also, Apple cleverly designed it so if phone is in locked state and you activate wallet and select ID, the biometric scan it does doesn't unlock the entire phone and trying to get into the rest of phone requires another biometric scan or phone password.
From the article "Users do not need to unlock, show, or hand over their device to present their ID."
That assumes every LEO, bodega, grocery store, etc. goes out and buys the terminals to read these things though. Assuming LEOs you encounter will never just say "sorry, my reader is broken, go ahead and unlock your phone so I can bring it back to my car and type in your info to look up your license" feels naive, especially for folks with darker skin tones.
I agree it's possible to present your ID without unlocking your phone, but is it likely?
It is likely that the reader will be implemented into a phone / tablet app so will be pretty ubiquitous eventually.
FWIW it will never technically be legal to rely on visually looking at someones phone to verify age / id bc it would be incredibly easy to fake the display and physical interaction. The only reason it can work as an ID is if it is digitally verified by a reader.
But I do agree that especially in the interim there will be cases where LEO will coerce a phone handover but I don't think this will be a long term problem since physical interaction with the phone does nothing to verify authenticity. You may as well hand them a piece of paper you printed out with your info.
> It is likely that the reader will be implemented into a phone / tablet app so will be pretty ubiquitous eventually.
They may wind up ubiquitous, but reader usage will be determined by the officers in the field, on a case by case basis. Take a look at jurisdictions where body cameras are mandated but are turned off, or intentionally obstructed.
I think you're forgetting about flights. And country borders. And I'm not sure how much luck you're going to have opening a bank account... does your birth certificate work for that?
As for birth certificate, it is a document that shows you are a citizenship and does identify you and can be used. It’s common in other countries as a document to open back accounts so in many ways it can in the USA.
Unless you're trying to be unnecessarily pedantic, yes you do.
There are exceptions like if you're a minor, if you're a passenger on a general aviation flight instead of a commercial one, etc.
But if you're an adult and you want to hop on a commercial flight from JFK to LAX, you need government-issued photo ID, period. You're not getting through security otherwise.
"I forgot my identification; can I still proceed through security screening?
In the event you arrive at the airport without acceptable identification (whether lost, stolen, or otherwise), you may still be allowed to fly. By providing additional information, TSA has other ways to confirm your identity so you can reach your flight."
Every USA airline has this documentaiton, and TSA has this documentation on their website too.
>Unless you're trying to be unnecessarily pedantic, yes you do.
Edge cases should be accounted for IRL. People like you are the reason why the right to privacy is being eroded away constantly.
>But if you're an adult and you want to hop on a commercial flight from JFK to LAX, you need government-issued photo ID, period. You're not getting through security otherwise.
The evidence I presented above states you can. Whether or not it's seamless or comfortable isn't a discussion, nor should it be "pedantic" to know the rules presented by these organizations.
If you forget your ID, then the extra screening will attempt to find existence of the ID in databases. The ID still needs to have been issued in the first place. This is mainly if you lose your driver's license while traveling, it lets you get back home. It is in no way some kind of general-purpose mechanism for flying without ID. And it's a gigantic hassle that may take hours at the airport to sort out, leading you to miss your flight and wait to be rebooked.
You're absolutely being pedantic and argumentative, and I can't even begin to imagine why. I assume you know perfectly well that an ID is required to fly as the general rule. I can't imagine what you think you're trying to accomplish by arguing otherwise.
And if you really want to be pedantic, note that the word used is "may", not "shall":
> In the event you arrive at the airport without acceptable identification (whether lost, stolen, or otherwise), you may still be allowed to fly.
I think there are a lot of good reasons to (also) carry a small number of cards and cash.
Take medical. The usual procedure if they need to scan your insurance info is to feed one or two cards through a scanner thingie. Others mention traffic stops and other interactions of that sort.
Could this all change eventually? But I have no problem with carrying a small business card sized wallet if only as backup in the interim.
> Take medical. The usual procedure if they need to scan your insurance info is to feed one or two cards through a scanner thingie.
It's the usual procedure but as far as I know there's no requirement to do it. All they really need is your policy number, your name and any other pertinent insurance info. I routinely go to places without my insurance cards and just recite the info for them which they write down.
I'll manage it for you. Just send me an email with a photo copy of your identifying information and I'll add it to a digital wallet I'm working on for you. You've got nothing to worry about, right?
Why would I want you to manage it? Are you making a phone I want to buy?
Just because I'm happy with some corporations having a scan of my driver's license doesn't mean I'm happy with anybody having it.
Are you already storing the details of millions of others, and mine is nothing special? Are you a publicly traded corporation accountable to shareholders? Are you a nation-state with procedures around all these things? Or are you a criminal trying to sign up for credit cards in my name?
Your supposed equivalence isn't an equivalence at all.
> There are literally no downsides. My state already had me in its electronic database because I'm a driver. The TSA already has me in its electronic database. Apple already knows exactly who I am from my many credit card purchases with them. It's not taking away any privacy. Having my ID on my phone gives me convenience and doesn't take anything away.
"Everyone already knows who I am why should I care?"
You're the exact reason our rights across the spectrum of the constitution have been eroded consistently since 2001. This view of privacy is so toxic I could go on a 10 page rant about it. There's so much wrong with this single paragraph.
First, while you are correct to say the government knows who you are. You are in databases all over. So why should you care?
1. Government organizations are not allowed to share information in many cases w.r.t. constitutionally protected things. Warrants are still required intra-government (though thanks to your type of thinking it's getting simpler and simpler for them).
2. It is taking away your privacy because cell phones are legally treated differently than paper ID. If you hand the phone to a law enforcement officer, of which most normal people have plenty of information that can be used to manufacture a case, they can legally search it as your ID and other pertinent information are there. Just like you can be compelled to open your phone if you use biometrics, you can be compelled to open your phone for your digital ID. I sure hope your nose is as clean as you imply because DAs could put Mother Teresa in prison if they worked hard enough!
3. The purpose of Apple Pay from a privacy perspective is to prevent credit card theft by using tokens. In reality it's used to track you and monetize you.
4. This is no more convenient than carrying around your ID and if you find it inconvenient to carry around 2" x 4" card in your pocket your life is so unbelievably decadent I can't possibly understand you.
5. From a security standpoint an "ID reader" at a club/bar/restaurant could feasibly lift sensitive information out of your phone without you knowing it. How much do you trust your security posture on your phone? Enough to show us all your last 5 years of text messages?
Rights are eroded over time. Slowly, year by year, election cycle by election cycle, as politicians capitalize on the collective panic over whatever moral crisis we are currently in.
> "Obviously this isn't mandatory nor should it be. Physical IDs aren't going anywhere. But I already keep all my credit cards in my Apple Wallet. I want to keep my driver's license there too".
We didn't start out with much mandatory stuff in 2001. All of it was seen as "convenient" (for the prevention of terrorism). But the fact privacy infringing things were allowed opened the door to further invasion. When you allow politicians/business to get a single millimeter of their toe in the crack of the door it's over. These "people" do not understand "reasonable". So while you hand over your most important shit to Apple and the government they're busy planning on how to either use it to imprison you or profit off you. This is true for every every constitutional right. If you're willing to give up freedom for security you deserve neither. Congratulations you've personally made the EFF and other right's organization's jobs another 1% harder.
Agreed. And perhaps most importantly it is saving me $35 for that absolute fucking scam that is “Real ID”. Normally I carry my passport when I fly but now I won’t even have to do that.
It's probably good for individual European countries or even the EU as a whole to have more homegrown industry (gasp protectionism! guess you gotta agree with Trump now. Ouch), and certainly the US does use its tech companies to spy and such, but outside of Trump being an asshat the US by and large follows the rule of law, and we are indeed allies with Europe. NATO, for example. US bases helping to defend Europe, again, for example. Oh and let's not forget, every major European power spies on the US and its diplomats and activities too - that's just business as usual.
This is in stark contrast to China and the Chinese approach to the West, which includes European countries. Have you forgotten that China is helping to fund and ship weapons to Russia to fight a war against Ukraine? Last I checked the US has given aid and is selling weapons and sanctioning Russia and Russian oil. And you want to equate the US and, idk, Microsoft to buying and installing Chinese equipment, software, and services while they help support a war on European soil?
I am glad that the first eID vote we had on this (in Switzerland) prevented private industry from issuing IDs etc.
What we have now (upcoming, after another vote) is an open source[1] non centralized eID issued by the government.[2]
Although there are still some problematic points (initial issuance software is not open source and who can ask for the ID is not limited enough) the solution we have now is the best way to do such a thing at this time.
[1] https://github.com/swiyu-admin-ch
[2] https://www.eid.admin.ch/de/swiyu-coming-soon-d