Across various states, a new technological advancement allows Americans to replace their physical wallets. A simple tap of their device on a scanner streamlines identity verification. Apple Pay and Google Wallet have made checking out at the grocery store and gas station so convenient, but is the convenience of commerce something we need in our interaction with government? Any facilitation of following Americans digitally is seemingly unnecessary — we know that from our Ring doorbell cameras to Alexa to red-light cameras to our smartphones, the federal government has its eyes on most of us most of the time.
With that in mind, though, wouldn’t the efficiency of a digital ID be worth the slight increase in potential tracking by the federal and state governments, given the already immeasurable scope of the surveillance?
No.
Here’s the problem. Digital IDs, such as those being issued as driver’s licenses in many states, do make it easy for the grocery store clerk to quickly verify your age, but that verification is instantaneously accomplished by pulling your personal data — age, in this example — off of a government server. That government server, then, knows exactly where you are, when you are there, and for what purpose you requested its data.
While this may seem inconsequential given the many other ways Big Brother has of locating you, there are yet places where most transactions are analog and there is no real-time tracking of your location and your reason for being wherever you are.
Not with digital ID, however. Because the data stored on that little chip is stored on government servers, in exchange for the ease of use, the government requires that the establishment offering you the convenience of using your digital ID give the government critical data about you. Here’s an example from an article published recently by Reason.com:
Colorodans [sic] can simply show their digital ID to verify their identity in much the same way as you would show your driver’s license to a bartender to prove you are over 21. That means of verifying identity is relatively private. However, many services, both public and private, are increasingly turning to electronic verification, which requires pinging a government server. This ping creates a data record outlining who, what, when, and where. Over time, these records create a government-controlled ledger of information about its citizens.
Built and maintained by third-party vendors, Colorado Digital ID collects troves of information from users. As outlined in the privacy policy for myColorado, the app collects data “including, but not limited to your IP address, device ID and browser type,” and information on the “general geographic area” of the user. The privacy policy further details that the government shares information with third-party service providers and, much more concerningly, with law enforcement and other government agencies upon request.