ID.me Advocates for Stronger Data Protection Laws

The digital identity specialist ID.me is voicing its support for federal privacy legislation. The company specifically highlighted the American Data Privacy and Protection Act, though it noted that other legislation could eventually start to make its way through Congress in the coming months.

On that front, ID.me indicated that it is willing to support any privacy legislation that meets certain parameters. Most notably, it argued that a good privacy protection act should give users full control over their personal information, and that companies should be required to obtain informed consent before sharing any user data. ID.me also advocated for user-friendly data governance policies, which is to say that organizations that collect data should provide users with access to a simple portal that lets them track their permission status.

The latter proposal could be particularly impactful, since it would make it easier for people to manage their relationships with credential and data sharing entities. According to ID.me, people should be able to revoke consent at any time, and standardized portals would presumably support a more consistent user experience for people who need to manage permissions across multiple organizations.

“ID.me supports federal privacy legislation that creates clear market protections for consumers,” said ID.me Co-Founder and CEO Blake Hall. “We believe that individuals have a fundamental right to privacy, and to control their own data across organizations and websites through the identity provider of their choice. While there are still important issues to iron out, we urge Congress to pass legislation that puts users in the driver’s seat and ensures they know how their personal information is being used.”

The statement is almost certainly an attempt to generate some good will and do damage control as ID.me continues to deal with the fallout of its relationship with the IRS. The company is now facing multiple federal investigations, with its failure to disclose its use of one-to-many facial recognition tech being one of the biggest points of contention.

For its part, ID.me has claimed that it only used the tech for deduplication purposes, so its activities are not necessarily inconsistent with its current policy stance. The company has advocated for the use of facial recognition as a fraud prevention tool.

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July 19, 2022 – by Eric Weiss