“Most people want some kind of a hard token for their identity, but I don’t know how long that will last,” said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum. “I would imagine that at some point, maybe in a generation, maybe less, that people will accept a fully digital system.”
In most states, people s data will be stored on their phone and with the DMV. People will only be able to access a mobile ID app with a passcode or using a smartphone’s fingerprint or facial recognition scan.
Industry leaders say safeguards will prevent anyone’s information from being stolen, but some critics argue that having so much personal data on a phone is too risky.
Utah plans to launch digital driver license program next year
Experts estimate that the pandemic has sped up the widespread adoption of contactless ID methods by at least a decade.
(Rick Bowmer | The Associated Press) Ryan Williams, with the Utah Driver License Division, displays his cellphone with the pilot version of the state s mobile ID on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in West Valley City. The card that millions of people use to prove their identity to everyone from police officers to liquor store owners may soon be a thing of the past as a growing number of states develop digital driver s licenses.
Mobile driver’s licenses? Pandemic gives boost as more states move to digital IDs
Updated 10:44 AM;
Today 10:44 AM
Ryan Williams, with the Utah Drivers License Division, displays his cellphone with the pilot version of the state s mobile ID on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in West Valley City, Utah. In Utah, over 100 people have a pilot version of the state s mobile ID, and that number is expected to grow to 10,000 by year s end. Widespread production is expected to begin at the start of 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)AP
Facebook Share
By Sophia Eppolito | Associated Press/Report for America
The card that millions of people use to prove their identity to everyone from police officers to liquor store owners may soon be a thing of the past as a growing number of states develop digital driver’s licenses.