Digital Identity

PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST IN DIGITAL ID SYSTEMS

Digital identification systems are more dangerous than you think. They can undermine people’s privacy, increase surveillance, and push the most vulnerable among us further to the margins. We challenge those promoting these systems to first consider alternative solutions and, when a digital ID system is appropriate, to center human rights in its design and implementation.

The #WhyID global campaign

#WhyID

An open letter to the leaders of international development banks, the United Nations, international aid organisations, funding agencies, and national governments

Resources

Digital ID Systems

Data Protection

Open letter: World Bank and its donors must protect human rights in digital ID systems

Access Now and partners urge the World Bank to immediately stop activities that promote harmful models of digital ID systems.

mitos big ID human rights

Data Protection

Busting Big ID’s myths

Big ID programs threaten our human rights yet are spreading like wildfire around the world. To buck the trend, we need to debunk the myths that propel digital ID systems forward.

Digital ID Systems

Data Protection

Go back to the drawing board: Kenya must scrap unconstitutional Huduma Bill 2021

Civil society organizations are calling on the Kenyan parliament to immediately scrap the unconstitutional Huduma Bill 2021.

amicus brief Colombia Coronapp

Data Protection

Biometric ID in Tunisia: a threat to privacy and data protection

Authorities in Tunisia have been deliberating over a biometric ID law that bears threats to the right to privacy & other fundamental rights.

Tunisia biometric passports

Privacy

Iris scanning of refugees is disproportionate and dangerous — What’s happening behind IrisGuard’s closed doors?

Refugees should not be required to hand over personal biometric data in exchange for basic needs such as purchasing food. However, iris scan tech is reportedly being used by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan.

Digital ID Systems

Digital Identity Systems

The Jamaica NIDS digital identification program: a cautionary tale​​

Lawmakers pushed through the Jamaica NIDS digital ID program without taking enough time to listen to civil society concerns. Here’s what other countries can learn from the flawed process.

amicus brief Colombia Coronapp

Covid-19

Protocol for exclusion: why COVID-19 vaccine “passports” threaten human rights

As the global COVID-19 vaccine rollout gains momentum, governments are clamoring to implement measures to help the world return to pre-virus normality. This includes exploring digital vaccine certificates — or COVID-19 vaccine “passports”. Current proposals, however, threaten human rights.

What are digital identification systems?

Digital identification or “digital ID” systems are those that use digital technology to establish the identity of an individual. More often than not, they refer to systems that aim to establish the legal identity of a person through processes of data capture, validation, storage, transfer, verification, authentication, and management. This can include different aspects of a person’s legal identity as it pertains to their relationships with authorities, or only a specific aspect of it, such as voting or travel.

Why do they matter?

The deployment of digital identification systems, by their very nature, affects every aspect of human life, including the rights to education, healthcare, work, freedom of movement, and autonomy. The heightened risk of surveillance that digital identification systems entail is rapidly undermining people’s privacy all over the world, and as a consequence, pushing the most vulnerable among us further to the margins of society, deepening existing inequalities, and further harming human rights. Access Now challenges those advancing these systems to first consider alternative solutions and, where ID systems are appropriate, to center human rights in their design and implementation.

Latest Updates

Private tech, humanitarian problems: how to ensure digital transformation does no harm
Data Protection
Data Protection

Private tech, humanitarian problems: how to ensure digital transformation does no harm

13 Feb 2024

Our new report, Mapping Humanitarian Tech: exposing protection gaps in digital transformation programmes, examines how humanitarian-tech partnerships impact people and communities at risk.

Post
Private tech, humanitarian problems: how to ensure digital transformation does no harm
13 Feb 2024
Private tech, humanitarian problems: how to ensure digital transformation does no harm
Digital Identity Toolkit
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

Tunisia’s biometric ID project back on the table but advocates want data protection guarantees

5 Feb 2024
News
Tunisia’s biometric ID project back on the table but advocates want data protection guarantees
Biometric Update ↗
5 Feb 2024
Tunisia’s biometric ID project back on the table but advocates want data protection guarantees
Digital Identity Toolkit
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

منظمات المجتمع المدني: المنظومة البيومترية خطر على المواطن والدولة

23 Jan 2024
News
منظمات المجتمع المدني: المنظومة البيومترية خطر على المواطن والدولة
Mosaique FM ↗
23 Jan 2024
منظمات المجتمع المدني: المنظومة البيومترية خطر على المواطن والدولة
Tunisia digitization programs
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

الأسئلة المتداولة في ما يخص بطاقة التعريف البيومترية

22 Jan 2024

تقدم هذه الوثيقة إجابات على أهم التساؤلات المتعلقة بمشروع قانون بطاقة التعريف البيومترية ومشروع قانون جواز السفر البيومتري الذي يناقشه مجلس نواب الشعب حاليًا في تونس.

Publication
الأسئلة المتداولة في ما يخص بطاقة التعريف البيومترية
22 Jan 2024
الأسئلة المتداولة في ما يخص بطاقة التعريف البيومترية
Data Protection
Data Protection

#MigrarSinVigilancia

18 Dec 2023

#MigrarSinVigilancia es un frente común para resguardar los derechos humanos de las personas migrantes desde la protección de sus datos personales.

Campaign
#MigrarSinVigilancia
18 Dec 2023
#MigrarSinVigilancia
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

Digital ID governance frameworks must promote inclusivity, trustworthiness, reliability

23 Oct 2023
News
Digital ID governance frameworks must promote inclusivity, trustworthiness, reliability
Biometric Update ↗
23 Oct 2023
Digital ID governance frameworks must promote inclusivity, trustworthiness, reliability
Digital Identity Toolkit
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

The digital identity toolkit

8 Oct 2023

Developed by Access Now, this toolkit helps build the lexicon and framework around digital ID issues to facilitate a human rights approach.

Guide
The digital identity toolkit
8 Oct 2023
The digital identity toolkit
Rightscon Korea
Transparency
Transparency

We’re headed to South Korea: the when, where, and why of our next convening

6 Oct 2023

We’re excited to announce that the 13th edition of the RightsCon Summit Series will be held in South Korea and online in February 2025!

Post
We’re headed to South Korea: the when, where, and why of our next convening
6 Oct 2023
We’re headed to South Korea: the when, where, and why of our next convening
Transparency
Transparency

An open letter to the RightsCon community about RightsCon Costa Rica and what comes next

31 Aug 2023

We explain the challenges and exclusion some participants faced, apologize and take accountability for our role, and share thoughts on the road ahead.

Post
An open letter to the RightsCon community about RightsCon Costa Rica and what comes next
31 Aug 2023
An open letter to the RightsCon community about RightsCon Costa Rica and what comes next
Human rights problem with Google Cloud Platform in Saudi Arabia - Twitter thumbnail
Surveillance
Surveillance

Big Tech looks the other way on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses

15 Jun 2023
News
Big Tech looks the other way on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses
Coda Story ↗
15 Jun 2023
Big Tech looks the other way on Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses
Tunisia digitization programs
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

Past learnings must be ‘at the heart of implementing’ a digital identity system in Kenya

24 May 2023
Press Release
Past learnings must be ‘at the heart of implementing’ a digital identity system in Kenya
24 May 2023
Past learnings must be ‘at the heart of implementing’ a digital identity system in Kenya
Digital ID Systems
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

Activists urge Kenya not to repeat mistakes of Huduma Namba in new digital ID plan

22 May 2023
News
Activists urge Kenya not to repeat mistakes of Huduma Namba in new digital ID plan
Biometric Update ↗
22 May 2023
Activists urge Kenya not to repeat mistakes of Huduma Namba in new digital ID plan
Tunisia digitization programs
Privacy
Privacy

Tunisia’s digitization programs threaten the privacy of millions

27 Apr 2023

Tunisia’s recent digitization programs could pave way for mass surveillance, identity theft, data exploitation, and more. Here’s why.

Post
Tunisia’s digitization programs threaten the privacy of millions
27 Apr 2023
Tunisia’s digitization programs threaten the privacy of millions
Digital Identity Systems
Digital Identity Systems

Privacy first: Ugandan court hears civil society’s human rights warnings on digital identity system

27 Mar 2023

The High Court or Uganda has ruled to allow expert intervention from Access Now and partners on the human rights red flags around the country’s digital ID system.

Press Release
Privacy first: Ugandan court hears civil society’s human rights warnings on digital identity system
27 Mar 2023
Privacy first: Ugandan court hears civil society’s human rights warnings on digital identity system
Exigimos que las personas puedan #MigrarSinVigilancia: ¡No a la recolección e intercambio masivo de datos biométricos de personas migrantes!|Exigimos que las personas puedan #MigrarSinVigilancia: ¡No a la recolección e intercambio masivo de datos biométricos de personas migrantes!
Privacy
Privacy

Pronunciamiento conjunto: México, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador y Estados Unidos deben terminar sus acuerdos para el intercambio transfronterizo de datos biométricos de personas migrantes

23 Mar 2023

México, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador y Estados Unidos deben terminar acuerdos para el intercambio de biométricos de personas migrantes.

Press Release
Pronunciamiento conjunto: México, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador y Estados Unidos deben terminar sus acuerdos para el intercambio transfronterizo de datos biométricos de personas migrantes
23 Mar 2023
Pronunciamiento conjunto: México, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador y Estados Unidos deben terminar sus acuerdos para el intercambio transfronterizo de datos biométricos de personas migrantes
Exigimos que las personas puedan #MigrarSinVigilancia: ¡No a la recolección e intercambio masivo de datos biométricos de personas migrantes!|Exigimos que las personas puedan #MigrarSinVigilancia: ¡No a la recolección e intercambio masivo de datos biométricos de personas migrantes!
Privacy
Privacy

Joint statement: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the United States must terminate their agreements on cross-border transfers of migrants’ biometric data

23 Mar 2023

Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the US must terminate their agreements on cross-border transfers of migrants’ biometric data.

Press Release
Joint statement: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the United States must terminate their agreements on cross-border transfers of migrants’ biometric data
23 Mar 2023
Joint statement: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the United States must terminate their agreements on cross-border transfers of migrants’ biometric data