Subscribe to the Free Future Newsletter

Or get immediate notifications of new posts via Substack

Free Future home

One of the big worries we have had about digital identity systems is that they will be embraced by the private sector for tracking. Last year we warned that once this infrastructure was created, the private sector is likely to leverage it to the max:

Seemingly overnight, you find demands to share your digital ID coming from every direction, online and off. Want to enter a convenience store? Scan your ID. Want to browse a clothing store, buy a cup of coffee, park your car? Scan your ID. When you try to watch a video online, log on to social media, or look at a news site, you get a pop-up demanding that you “click here to submit your driver’s license.” Now that the infrastructure exists, you find yourself asked to submit your license at every turn.…