Comment by doikor
2 days ago
This is effectively the EU age verification system.
Your government (which already has all your details) generates certificates and you just give those out. The other side can the use simple public/private key verification to ensure the cert is valid. Also government does not get information who you gave the cert to and if you create a bunch and single use them the other side can’t follow you between uses using the certs.
The EU age verification system requires tying yourself to Google/Apple [0] (ie will not work with GrapheneOS) which is a non-starter. This means you will need a mandatory Google/Apple account. What if your Google account gets banned?
[0] https://github.com/eu-digital-identity-wallet/av-doc-technic...
My Google account is in good standing but has other issues. In between startups and side projects I cannot link my phone number as it has been used "too many times". So apparently, to Google, if I want a new account or to set this up, I need a new phone number. Enquiries to support have gone as well as you'd expect with Google.
I have a gradfathered account from before Google Workspaces or whatever its name (Google Apps for Domains?) became a paid service, and it's in an extremely weird state after so many changes to what Google offers, integrates, fixes and unfixes, that I sometimes can't even login to Google services.
Ended up moving my mail and info from Google away, just not to deal with it.
The problem in the US is that the government doesn't necessarily have all of your details. Most people's ID is a driver's license, but you're not mandated to have one of those. The federal government doesn't control those databases (hi, REAL ID), and few people actually have passports. Your citizenship documents are just a birth certificate that is an image on file with a particular state's health department. A centralized identification system on that scale in the US would take generations to get up and running
> A centralized identification system on that scale in the US would take generations to get up and running
Cultural pushback has so far prevented such a system from being created. I hope that continues but am not optimistic.
And then there's the problem of undocummented / illegal immigrants that the US has, which nevertheless can often get some state services and have enough ID to pass by. Because it's a political issue, nobody can either legalize or deport them without getting into the political quagmire that is immigration reform.
In functioning ID systems (and not having or wanting one is a valid political position which both the US and the UK took) this is not an issue.
I live in Poland, and we force rotating IDs on a (staggered) 10-year schedule, just so we can slowly upgrade them and introduce new features like these.
I'm not quite sure what immigration has to do with a national ID system in the US. Seems like you just wanted to bring that up to be able to say "man that'd be so much easier if you got rid of all the immigrants" which it would have no impact either way on this particular issue
Also on the rotating schedule thing, driver's licenses expire in the US, usually on a 5-10 year cadence. Replacing the physical cards was not even remotely close to the issue we had with getting REAL ID implemented, the cards themselves aren't special they just have an extra indicator on them. It was about putting in requirements around new documentation and proof of identity, citizenship, and residence and most states not being ready to handle that
For example my home state of Alabama issues licenses through the state department of public safety. That's who does the initial test to see if you're fit to drive, etc. But, once you have it you can then renew your license at a city or county office. These offices take a HUGE burden off the state, but they're not qualified to do the verification needed under federal law for REAL ID. So, to get a compliant ID you'd need to go to one of the very few state offices and they were overwhelmed
This is the type of issue with the system in the US, not the physical card, not the big scary illegal immigrant problem
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