Here's the advice from Privy Australia country manager Rob Hotchin:

What is a reusable digital ID? Why is it a better option amidst the threat of ongoing data breaches?

It’s simply your credentials stored securely in a digital format that allows you to share your information how and when you decide.

That sounds like a scary concept right now because the latest trend in Australia is to share all your PII (Personal Identifiable Information) with anyone and everyone. It seems like a new breach happens every day.

However, if done correctly, a reusable digital identity is a much more secure way of managing your identity. We (Australia) currently have a physical/paper identity being used in a digital world, which is why we’ve seen so many breaches. But an identity built in the digital age, for the digital age, is much more fit for purpose. On balance, if done correctly, digital ID is the better option.  

 So, what does that look like? How would I use a digital ID in my day-to-day life?  

Here are a few examples of how Digital ID can be used to improve your life as a citizen/consumer:

Why do we need to verify ourselves constantly? Why is once not enough?

The 100-point system is terrible. I must have gone through it so many times, so why do I have to do it again and again? What if you could verify yourself once, and that lasts a lifetime? With a standardised digital identifier, you’d be able to just click to apply for credit cards, loans, gaming apps mobile contracts, etc. Life would be much easier, and the risk of your data being improperly handled would be greatly reduced.

Another example of this is when you lease a rental car or equipment. We’ve had digital driving licences in NSW for a few years now - but when I went to rent a car the other day, they insisted on a physical driving licence. I ended up getting an Uber back home, collecting my license and then returning to collect the car. This is typically not the car rental company but driven by the insurance company. It’s a risk thing - if you’re not who you said you were, you’ve got a $30k car that they’re insuring. So, imagine if not only the digital ID was accepted to make your life easier, but it was built into their app so you could go straight to the car and unlock it on the app.

Are you really getting messages from who they say they are?

Text message received from Medicare… Or is it? I’m not sure if it’s a reflection on my social life or how bad fraud has gotten - but I receive more texts pretending to be someone they are not than my friends and family. What if there was a way to digitally verify someone’s ID? I guess I’ve answered my own question on this one.

Even while using dating apps. You find someone on Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, etc. and you arrange a date. Are they really who they say they are? Well, if you had a digital ID, they could verify every user and ban anyone who has either been reported on the platform or by the police - making it a much safer environment for everyone.  

What about deep fakes?

With the rise in AI, deep fake incidents have significantly increased giving people the free reign to pretend to be someone they are not. They might take your picture from FB, take your data from Medibank or Optus, and then start applying for loans under your name. Well, if you had a digital ID, there could only be one of you.

So, no more risk of deep fakes? Well, could someone make up a new person as a deep fake - yes. But think about your digital ID as a credit score. As you use your ID, you build a score. You apply for a loan, a credit card, a concert ticket, and a hotel check-in, this all leaves a little footprint. This creates a score so that organisations can trust your ID over a fake, which wouldn’t have any of that activity. This means it doesn’t matter how realistic an AI can make it look like you - they don’t have the required level of activity and lack the required amount of digital trust to perform any meaningful transactions. 

Annoyed about missing out on tickets to attend your favourite concert? A secured digital ID would solve the problem.

How annoying is it when your favourite act comes to town, but you don’t manage to get a ticket? Well, a high percentage of those tickets are likely bought by touts and people trying to resell and make a quick buck. If a digital ID was required for every ticket purchased, then that ticket would be tied to that ID and in turn, would stop that entire problem. A ticket could only be passed from one ID to another on the official platform and therefore at the retail price.

It’d also help security have a view of exactly who’s in the stadium and therefore manage risk. Are there people with anti-social bans entering the arena? We can manage it more easily with a digital ID system.  

Am I being ripped off when buying something on the Facebook Marketplace or eBay?

Do you ever feel a little uncomfortable transferring money for something you’re buying on the Facebook marketplace or eBay? Are they legit? Am I being ripped off? Well, if everyone was verified, at a minimum, you’d know the person you’re transacting with, and it’d be pretty easy to draw up a basic contract and have it validated. That way you’d at least be able to tell the police exactly who ripped you off. 

Why does a hotel need your passport during checking-in? Will they go to the airport?

No! But they photocopy it and put it in a filing cabinet that isn’t locked. If you had a digital ID, you could check in with a click of a button and the front desk wouldn’t even have to know your name.  

There are a million of these use cases. This is why a digital ID in Australia becomes so important. It’s great that some industries are starting to look at this, but for it to truly work, it needs to cover everything.