{"id":315907,"date":"2025-11-13T14:32:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T04:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=315907"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:32:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T04:32:33","slug":"digital-ids-fiercest-opponents-britains-digital-id-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=315907","title":{"rendered":"Digital ID\u2019s fiercest opponents? Britain\u2019s digital ID industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Keir Starmer’s vow to develop a digital ID and mandate its use for \u201cright to work\u201d checks has sparked intense criticism from political rivals, civil liberties groups \u2014 and even the prime minister’s own MPs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no one was more dismayed than the firms which already provide accredited digital verification services (DVS) to millions of Brits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country’s private digital ID sector has spent years working with the U.K. government. It’s grown to become a \u00a32 billion a year industry, according to the state’s own estimates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, with a state-issued single ID looming, those firms fear the government is about to knock the bottom out of a market it has spent years helping to foster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe September announcement means we are now entering a critical new phase of the U.K.\u2019s digital ID debate \u2013 a phase that has brought uncertainty for citizens and the private sector alike,\u201d Julian David, CEO of lobby group TechUK, has warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The industry is not taking it lying down \u2014 and plans to drive a clear wedge between the prime minister\u2019s policy of a \u201cmandatory\u201d digital ID and their own sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From immigration to \u2018faff\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Starmer initially billed the plan as a way to curb immigration, saying \u201cmandatory\u201d employment checks will make it easier to stop migrants working in the U.K. illegally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sector points out that this is a service it’s already got the tools to provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under a “trust framework” that became law earlier this year, accredited digital verification services can be used to prove someone\u2019s identity on everything from opening bank accounts to background checks \u2014 and even \u201cright to work\u201d checks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starmer’s plan landed straight into a backlash \u2014 with public confusion<\/a> over just how compulsory the scheme would be, and cries of mixed messaging from Labour MPs, who feared the government was failing to sell the upsides of the plan in making Brits’ lives easier.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Keir Starmer’s plan landed straight into a backlash \u2014 with public confusion over just how compulsory the scheme would be, and cries of mixed messaging from Labour MPs. | Jeff J Mitchell\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Firms which already provide digital ID feared the row to would tarnish their sector, too. A more recent pivot by ministers to emphasize the benefits of digital ID \u2014 with Starmer saying the plan would \u201ccut the faff\u201d people face when trying to do things like applying for a mortgage \u2014 offers a glimmer of hope, three industry representatives told POLITICO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sector now plans to use an upcoming consultation on the policy to convince ministers to dramatically limit the state’s role in digital ID provision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who does what<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ministers\u202finsist their plans will be subject to extensive engagement with industry,\u202fwith any\u202fsystem\u202f\u201cdesigned and built in-house.\u201d\u202fBut the question of who does what is now a live one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One government official, granted anonymity to speak about internal Whitehall thinking, said a single, state-issued ID would be most\u202feffective in driving uptake of digital IDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u202fTechUK\u2019s\u202fassociate director for technology and innovation, Laura Foster, said: \u201cGovernment should integrate proven technologies, rather than starting from scratch.\u201d\u202f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iain Corby, executive director of the Age Verification Providers\u2019 Association, argued that giving a competitive market of multiple digital ID providers can reduce privacy concerns \u2014 and would avoid risking taxpayer money on an unproven public alternative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf government tries to nationalize digital ID, taxpayers will be left funding development, maintenance, integration and customer support, while innovation \u2014 especially the investment needed to keep IDs secure from AI threats \u2014 will be stifled,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sector has taken heart from Starmer\u2019s move to give the Cabinet Office, a coordinating department at the heart of Whitehall, responsibility for \u201cpolicy development, legislation and strategic oversight\u201d of plan. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will lead on \u201ctechnical design, build and delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Crack, chair of the Association of Digital Verification Professionals, said it was \u201cunambiguously good news\u201d that the center of government was gripping digital IDs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow the real work begins,\u201d he said \u2014 \u201cdefining boundaries, building trust, and managing the politics of compulsion versus choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julie Dawson, chief policy and regulatory officer at Yoti, a U.K. DVS provider, said clearer separation of responsibilities \u201ccould actually bring benefits,\u201d with the Cabinet Office taking point on the politically sensitive issue of \u201cmandatory\u201d digital IDs, while DSIT enables wider use through private sector providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has also backed the move, saying it was \u201cfantastic\u201d to have the Cabinet Office\u2019s support. \u201cThis is a top priority for the prime minister that requires all government departments to be engaged,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peace offerings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not the first time the sector has raised concerns \u2014 with then-Technology Secretary Peter Kyle forced to apologize at an event in May for failing to adequately engage with the sector before announcing plans for a digital driving license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In private, officials have reassured the sector that work to drive adoption of private tech will carry on despite plans for the government to issue its own digital ID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following fresh calls for clarity in the wake of the Starmer\u2019s announcement of \u201cmandatory\u201d work checks, officials told private sector representatives at an event last month that the government remained committed to creating an \u201cinformation gateway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Technology Secretary Liz Kendall has also backed the move, saying it was \u201cfantastic\u201d to have the Cabinet Office\u2019s support. | Stefan Rousseau\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This will allow accredited providers to tap into government data \u2014 and could allow their products to be used in even more scenarios that involve statutory ID checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials also reaffirmed plans to allow a DVS to be used to prove someone\u2019s age when buying alcohol by the end of this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The \u00a32bn sector fears the state\u2019s own digital ID plans could knock the bottom out of its market \u2014 and see it caught in a public backlash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":315909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,85],"tags":[7528,16713],"class_list":["post-315907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-uk","tag-digital-id","tag-keir-starmer"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=315907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":315912,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315907\/revisions\/315912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/315909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=315907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=315907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=315907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}