STATEMENT ON MANDATORY DIGITAL ID
Under what circumstances, if any, should digital ID be mandatory?
To address this critical question, the Human Rights for Digital Identity (HR4ID) Coalition has developed a common position, summarizing our core concerns and recommendations. In the statement, we outline the potential harms posed by different types of digital ID systems and mandatory requirements, highlight the positive and negative obligations of public and private institutions, and make recommendations for designing systems that will help to ensure human rights.
Core Concerns and Recommendations
Evidence of negative impact
Mandatory digital ID requirements negatively impact human rights and human life, particularly for those who are marginalized or vulnerable
No mandatory enrollment
Public institutions should not require mandatory enrollment in a digital ID system.
No mandatory use
Public institutions should not require mandatory use of elements of the digital ID system to access public services or privately provided public services.
A need for alternatives
In contexts where digital ID systems already exist or are in development, the state has an obligation to guarantee that equal, adequate, and accessible alternatives are available.
An obligation to act
Public institutions have obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights. Mandatory digital ID requirements have demonstrated the potential to seriously harm both those who have been excluded from the system, as well as those who have been included. Therefore, we argue that governments must refrain from imposing such requirements and also take affirmative steps to ensure that seemingly voluntary systems do not become discriminatory barriers to services, processes, or spaces.
Designing for human rights
All digital ID systems, and especially those introduced by public institutions, should be responsive to the needs of affected individuals and communities. Therefore, we encourage public institutions to turn away from imposing mandatory requirements that all too often lead to expansive data collection and the misuse of identifying technologies, and instead to design and build digital infrastructures that embrace autonomy, equality, and dignity.
Maintaining non-digital alternatives
We encourage public institutions to recognize that investments in non-digital infrastructure and non-digital services—as well as legal, regulatory, and administrative frameworks that encompass key concerns such as data protection and remedies for digital harm—may play an equally or more important role in realizing human rights for all. And most importantly, public institutions must take affirmative steps to ensure that these digital systems remain truly voluntary–with equal, adequate, and accessible alternatives for those who do not or cannot access these systems.
Interested in Joining the Community?
Coalition members
Africa
- Africa Matters Initiative
- AfroLeadership
- ASUTIC
- Black Sash
- Changement Social Benin
- CIPESA
- CIPIT
- Climax
- Give1project
- Haki na Sheria Initiative
- Internews
- ISER
- KICTANet
- Katiba Institute
- Lawyers Hub
- MISA
- Norwegian Refugee Council
- Nubian Rights Forum
- Paradigm Initiative
- Polaris Association
- Pollicy
- RAA
- RIA
- TNET
- University Gaston Berger, Saint Louis
- Unwanted Witness
- YAS
- Zenzeleni
Asia
- Aapti Institute
- BLAST
- Centre for Internet & Society
- HRF
- Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services
- Innovation for Change
- Nationality for All
- Responsible Business
Europe
- Epicenter.works
- Norwegian Refugee Council
- Privacy International
- Worldvision, Collaborative Cash Delivery
Latin America & the Caribbean
- Asociación por los Derechos Civiles
- Data Privacy Brazil
- Derechos Digitales
- Hiperderecho
- ITS Rio
- Karisma
- R3D Mexico
- SlashRoots
- TEDIC
North America
- Access Now
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association
- Namati
- Digital Welfare State Project, Center for Human Rights & Global Justice (CHRGJ) at NYU Law
- Open Society Foundations
- Localization Lab
- Surveillance Resistance Lab
- Temple University’s Institute for Law, Innovation & Technology (iLIT)
