Identity Authority Ecosystems and Digital Transformation: the key technical, legal, and policy considerations for policymakers in a rapidly changing landscape
Lead instructor: Pam Dixon, Founder and Executive Director of World Privacy Forum
This course is designed to provide a thorough overview of the major identity (ID) ecosystem structures in use today, how they are managed, as well as a comprehensive study of the legal and policy landscapes that are shaping legislative, regulatory, and governance dialogues regarding ID ecosystems within a variety of contexts, particularly in Africa and India. The structure and governance of ID systems has changed substantively in the last decade. This course provides an extensive look at how ID systems are structured now, what has changed and why, and what to think about in preparing for ongoing digital transformation. The course includes both presentation and discussion in a conference room, and hands-on experience with the technology in a laboratory.
The course begins with a review of the four key identity verification platforms, which are at the center of ID technical infrastructures. These four structures are critically important to understand in order to master ID ecosystem governance mechanisms. The course covers Electronic Identity (eID), Mobile Identity (mID), Digital Identity, and Decentralized Digital Identity in depth. Each of these platforms are associated with different types of ID credential storage, tokens, verification, and trust models, and each of these will be clarified and discussed with use cases and examples taken from the field.
The course will cover an additional critical structural component of ID systems, which are the standards and specifications in use in the ID ecosystems of today, including World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) verifiable credentials, International Standards Organization (ISO) mDL, and Open ID, among others. The course will include a discussion of how the standards apply to each of the four core identity models, with use cases that illustrate how the standards and specifications interact in different contexts.
The next section of the course shifts to the legal and policy infrastructure for ID systems, and includes a comprehensive discussion of ID system governance tools, models, and frameworks. To begin this portion of the course, an ID Authority from Africa will present an in-depth exploration of their ID system platform, the services associated with and effectuated by the platform, and the technical and governance tools, legislation, and models they are using. The ID authority will discuss the current state of the ID system, and what next steps for growth and improvement are planned.
Following the ID authority presentation, the course moves into a comprehensive discussion of the legal frameworks and policy models that are being used in ID systems. Taking multiple examples of legislative and policy frameworks from Africa, and including a discussion of the Aadhaar model from India, among others, the course will provide participants with an overview of legal structures for ID ecosystems that is both broad and rich in detail. A comprehensive spreadsheet of global legal ID frameworks will be included as part of the course materials.
This portion of the course concludes with an in-depth discussion of the key policy issues that are most pressing today in ID ecosystems. The discussion includes data sharing, scope of authority, data empowerment, mandatory declarations of vital events (CRVS), what constitutes identity and personally identifiable information, how are the roles of supply ecosystems being established such as attributes and credentialing. and what types of legal reforms are needed to establish ID systems in and for the next digital era. Multiple use cases taken from national ID ecosystems will facilitate discussions regarding how to integrate a more services-oriented approach to ID systems, how to fund ID ecosystems in a way that facilitates trust, how various countries are solving lingering bias and discriminatory practices that could be harmful to vulnerable groups,
Finally, participants in this class will have the opportunity to interact with the technologies directly. Participants will visit the Digital Experience Center which is housed at Carnegie Mellon University’s campus in Rwanda. This center is a showcase of digital public technologies dedicated to fostering technology adoption and promoting sustainable advancements.
- This course is intended for people who will be involved in making decisions related to ID systems, including decisions related to policy, law, technology or governance.
- Upon completing the course, participants will have a clear understanding of the four ID platforms (models), and how they differ, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each model. Participants will know the relevant standards and specifications that are used to connect and govern various parts of ID ecosystems on a technical level, and how to access and approach them. Regarding the legal and policy aspects of ID systems, participants will have a thorough understanding of how legal, regulatory, and policy governance frameworks are built, and apply to and operate within ID systems. Participants will also have a clear understanding of the core policy challenges in ID systems today, and will have been able to dialogue with a working ID authority. Finally, participants will have a robust set of legal and policy resources that come as material with the course, which will facilitate participants’ further work in this area.
- No specific background is required for this course.