With legal changes soon being implemented by the Home Office, products whose purchase requires age verification are among the key focus areas of government’s dedicated unit focused on digital identity
By the end of this year, UK citizens buying alcohol could be able to use a digital identity to prove their age.
About nine months ago, the Home Office outlined plans to make the changes to the law that would allow digital verification services (DVS) to be used to enable the purchase of alcohol.
In a newly published blog post, government’s Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) – which has a remit to administer formal certifications for digital IDs, as well as encouraging the commercial market and international counterparts – said that “we expect [legslative] changes to be in place by the end of the year, and are currently focusing our efforts on the requirements, to keep these checks safe and secure”.
The post adds that OfDIA, which sits within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, will also be considering other types of transactions – as the upcoming “legal changes provide an ideal opportunity to drive the adoption of DVS for other age-restricted goods… [such as] tobacco and vapes, fireworks or gambling”.
“That’s why we are working across government to promote consistency… in the rules for the sale of other age-restricted products”, added the blog, which was written by policy advisor Adele Kersey.
She added that the current another key area of focus for potential digital ID use cases is financial services.
“This is also a highly regulated sector, with financial institutions required to undertake ‘know your customer’ checks when onboarding new customers”, the blog added. “There are also clear benefits to being able to ensure that payments have been authorised by the right person, without that person needing to visit their bank in person.”
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One of government’s key objectives over the coming months will be to produce specialised guidance for the sector intended to address a current “lack of clarity… as to how digital identities can be used to meet obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations”.
Progress for age-restricted transactions and banking would build on strides already made in the employment sector where legislative amendments made during the coronavirus crisis have already enabled the rollout of DVS for government Right To Work and Disclosure and Barring Service Checks. The growing use of these in the years since then means government has “taken some big steps towards our goal of widespread adoption of digital identities”, the OfDIA blog said.
“Now, we see millions of secure and privacy-preserving digital RTW and DBS checks taking place each month, reducing time spent on these from days to just minutes, and getting new employees into new jobs much sooner,” it added.
The online update concluded, beyond existing and imminent industry use cases, “there are numerous other areas of the economy where DVS can play a transformative role”.
“While our highest priority sectors are employment, age-restricted products and financial services, we are also working to drive adoption across other areas of the economy, such as property and travel,” Kelsey wrote. “We are continuing to work with government departments, regulators and sector representatives to remove barriers, and enable secure and robust checks. If there are other areas which you think OfDIA should prioritise to help unlock progress, then let us know.”
