New mobile driving license initiatives unveiled in Europe and the U.S.

Is the digitization of existing credentials leading to digital identity products? A panel discusses mobile driving licenses (mDL) in the U.S. as Florida prepares to be the next state to offer the service. Meanwhile, new European legislation is being drafted to enable Dutch drivers to obtain one-day vehicle registration certificates via a mobile app from November, Computable reports.

The vehicle registration news comes days after the Dutch national standards organization NEN published a new standard for mobile driving licenses, which contains various technical requirements concerning data exchange and security.

Bas van den Berg, head of driving licenses at the RDW, the Netherlands vehicle licensing authority, has recently partnered with Arjan Geluk from UL (identity management & security) and Apple’s Martijn Haring to form a new ‘task force’ on mobile standards for driving license applications.

Van den Berg spoke to Computable, calling for EU countries to individually start issuing mobile driving licenses (mDLs) in pilot projects, while the EU works on comprehensive legislation for the technology.

The Netherlands aims to set an example in this regard, with a trial of mobile one-day vehicle registration certificates scheduled to start this autumn.

According to van den Berg, the move should pave the way for mobile driving licenses to be issued in the near future.

Authenticate MDL Panel discusses digital driving licenses in the U.S.

A recent panel hosted by the executive director of the Secure Technology Alliance, Jason Bohrer, discussed the impact that mobile driver’s licenses can have on identity and identity verification in the U.S.

During the event, Loffie Jordaan from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) gave a general overview of the new ISO/IEC 18013-5 international standard for mDL and Mobile IDs (mID).

Jordaan analyzed the technologies described by the new standard, and how the new guidelines are going to enable not only a more secure experience for users through public-key certificates but also a more interoperable one.

Kristina Yasuda, identity standards architect at Microsoft, then took the floor to discuss the scalability of mDL applications, after the publication of the new standards. Yasuda urged institutions to start deploying solutions using the new standards and said that further use cases can be deployed at a later time.

“Probably an important distinction in terms of use cases would be that the initial origin of the work was really […] presenting a driving license for driving privileges, which is very different from presenting driving licenses for identity verification purposes,” Yasuda said.

“So those are some important distinctions to make this thinking about use cases and security mechanisms required.”

In addition, the Microsoft expert thinks the new technology is to be considered a building block in the wider picture of digitizing other types of citizen identity, such as national ID cards and residence permits.

The panel then continued with David Kelts, director of Product Development at Get Group, giving a market overview of mDL applications.

“And so we’ve got at this point some tens of thousands mDL holders across the United States, there are some international pilots as well, and with planned projections to be in the hundreds of thousands at the end of the year into early next year,” Kelts explained.

The panel then closed with Jamie Danker, senior director of Venable LLP discussing the privacy implications of the new mDL standards.

“The two top concerns that always come up with digital identity are tracking and profiling,” Danker said, saying both of them will have to be addressed when developing mDL applications based on the new standards.

However, she also believes that mDLs can have some positive privacy benefits if done correctly.

“For example, [in] alcohol purchase age verification use case[s], when you present your physical driver’s license now you’re providing a lot of data, but with a mobile driver’s license you have the ability for selective disclosure.”

Moving forward, Danker said, it will be important to ensure that mDL users have reliable assumptions about how their data are being used and that they can sense that there’s meaningful consent implemented in the process.

Florida to launch mDL project in November

Spotted by Florida Insider, the new project should see the release of the new digital IDs in mid-November by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles  (FLHSMV).

“Residents will be able to use a Florida Smart-ID Verifier app to share their Florida Smart-ID through a scannable QR or barcode,” the FLHSMV website reads. “Once a user’s barcode is scanned, their information will be read and shared with the appropriate individual.”

The company is also reportedly working with Apple to make the digital ID available on the Apple Wallet.

Georgia and Arizona will be the first U.S. states to release the Apple version of the digital license in the next few weeks, with Iowa, Connecticut, Maryland, Kentucky, Utah, and Oklahoma scheduled to follow next year.

FLHSMV clarified that the new mDLs will not replace, but rather be used in conjunction with, physical driver’s licenses.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  digital ID  |  driver's license  |  identity verification  |  interoperability  |  legislation  |  mDL  |  mobile app  |  Netherlands  |  regulation  |  standards  |  United States