What this piece is
A reflection on attending the ID2020 summit at the United Nations in New York. The piece captures the scale of the global identity challenge — 1.5 billion people without legal identity — and the convergence of policy and technology communities working to address it. It also outlines guiding principles for self-sovereign identity. Originally published on Medium, June 2021. Originally written circa 2016.What is the core idea?
The global identity challenge requires both policy frameworks and technology platforms. Self-sovereign identity puts the individual in control — they register independently, they own it, it is recognised globally, and it supports multiple contexts. The technology matters less than what it enables: the ability for individuals to do more, online and off, with greater trust and personal control.Guiding principles for self-sovereign identity
- The individual can register independently and keep their identity forever.
- It belongs to the individual — only they can own it and it cannot be deleted.
- It is available to everyone and recognised as a legal identity, globally.
- It is created, managed, and controlled by the individual.
- It is context-aware — supporting many aspects of identity across many use cases.
Related pages
- Open banking and identity — consent-driven identity infrastructure
- The perfect storm for identity — regulatory convergence for identity
- Is AI the ‘new oil’? — identity as the second phase of the “new oil” narrative
- Thoughts
- Identity and trust infrastructure in open banking — identity assurance levels and decentralised identity
- Consent and risk in open banking — consent design