TechUK is calling on the government and industry to deliver a properly regulated Digital Identity (ID) marketplace.

The technology trade association said that closer collaboration is needed to strengthen business confidence that the UK has a viable digital identity ecosystem.

A new report, Unlocking Digital Identity in 2022, outlines ten key recommendations which techUK says will help to build an effectively regulated market.

The report is published at a key juncture in the development of the UK Digital ID ecosystem, as DCMS continues to work on the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework.

However, as DCMS’s consultation process enters its third year, techUK said the industry is still missing the clarity that only proper market regulation can deliver.

Anticipated economic and social benefits of Digital ID range from allowing individuals and businesses to confidently assert their identity online, to providing greater protection against online fraud and verifying the right to work or rent digitally.

On this basis, techUK believes that the development of a thriving digital economy is firmly predicated upon the creation of a secure, flexible, and fully interoperable Digital ID ecosystem, the trade association said.

The report states that the current regulatory gap can be addressed by a much closer cooperative engagement between government and industry to accelerate the process and deliver full regulation in 2023.

To determine what action is needed to ensure this happens, techUK is proposing tencalls to action to enable a workable UK digital ID market. These include:

-GDS’s One Login for Government platform build should be fully opened to competition and tender process
-A permanent public/private governing body which owns, defines, promotes, and certifies against the Trust Framework should be created during the first half of 2023
-Government should allow full interoperability between public and private sector Digital IDs
-Government proposals on the future of the UK Data Protection Act must provide more clarity to UK ISPs on areas that may impact the use of Digital ID in the UK
-DCMS and industry stakeholders should create a formalised joint working group to co-operate and accelerate delivery of the UK Trust Framework during 2023

Iain McCallum, programme manager for Digital ID, techUK said:“Since the publication of techUK’s last white paper on Digital ID in 2020, we have witnessed the development of the Digital ID ecosystem in the private sector with world-class solutions being delivered to UK business and citizens during the upheavals of the global pandemic.

He added:“However, there are still significant barriers to overcome with the development of the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework, and many in the industry feel that closer cooperation and engagement is required to both optimise and accelerate the framework development process.”

Joseph Spear, chair of the techUK Digital ID Programme’s Working Group, mVine said: “Digital ID will bring many benefits to the UK’s economy and society, but actionable regulation is first of all needed to reach its full potential. techUK’s white paper builds on the previous two and is equally as timely and informative as industry and Government navigate the use cases of Digital ID.”

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