Welcome to ID Tech’s digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:
UK Report Counts 275 Digital Identity Providers and £2 Billion in Sector Revenue
The United Kingdom’s digital identity sector has grown to an estimated 275 firms generating about two billion pounds in annual revenue, according to a new government analysis from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes. The Digital Identity Sectoral Analysis Report 2026 also found that 77 percent of surveyed UK residents have used a digital identity service for at least one purpose, most often for insurance, credit applications, or opening a bank account, while sector gross value added rose to 1,037 million pounds. The figures give the government a new benchmark for measuring adoption under the Digital Verification Services trust framework as the market continues to expand around certified digital identity services.
Fragomen and SICPA Form Joint Venture to Build Digital Identity Platform
Global immigration law firm Fragomen and Swiss security technology company SICPA have formed a joint venture to build digital identity solutions for governments, enterprises, and individuals. The venture will combine identity verification, verifiable credentials, document authentication, digital wallets, and credential lifecycle management into a standards-based platform aimed at workforce mobility, travel, education, and humanitarian programs. The partnership brings together Fragomen’s immigration and compliance operations with SICPA’s background in secure credentials and document authentication, creating a new platform for organisations that need to verify and manage trusted information across borders.
Bulgaria’s GERB Proposes Under-16 Social Media Limits With a Digital Age-Check Wallet
Bulgaria’s GERB party has submitted a bill that would bar children under 16 from social networks and require age checks through a state-issued digital identity app. The proposal would direct the Ministry of e-Government to develop a free digital wallet that users would rely on to prove their age when registering for social media, while teenagers between 16 and 18 would face restrictions on recommendation systems, endless scrolling, and overnight access. The measure follows similar age-assurance efforts elsewhere in Europe and would tie online child-safety enforcement to wallet-based digital identity checks.
Nigeria Intensifies National Digital ID Enrolment Under New NIMC Act
Nigeria’s government says it is stepping up a nationwide effort to enrol every resident in the country’s national digital identity system through a strengthened partnership between the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation and the National Identity Management Commission. The push follows the new NIMC Act 2026, which recasts the commission as Nigeria’s foundational digital identity authority and adds provisions on data protection, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure, and public key infrastructure. NIMC says more than 136 million Nigerians and legal residents have been enrolled, with a ward-by-ward campaign intended to reach the remaining population and extend the National Identification Number system.
IDfy Wins India’s Government-Backed DPDP Consent Challenge
Indian identity and trust technology company IDfy has won Code for Consent, a government-run competition focused on consent management and data governance under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act. The challenge was organised by MeitY Startup Hub with the National e-Governance Division, with participants assessed on technical, functional, and legal readiness before live demonstrations. IDfy entered with Privy, its privacy and data governance platform, which covers consent governance, data discovery and classification, data principal rights management, third-party risk assessments, and audit-ready compliance evidence for organisations preparing to operate under India’s incoming privacy rules.
ROC Watch Receives DHS SAFETY Act Designation for Its Video Analytics Platform
ROC Watch has received a Developmental Testing and Evaluation designation under the US Department of Homeland Security’s SAFETY Act, extending federal liability protections to the technology and the organisations that deploy it. ROC Watch is an AI-based video analytics platform for threat detection, alerts, and post-event investigation across live and recorded video, using computer-vision models for face recognition, person detection, gun detection, vehicle detection, and automatic license plate recognition. The designation gives public-sector and critical-infrastructure buyers another procurement signal as they evaluate ROC’s platform for security and public-safety video analytics deployments.
Papua New Guinea Partners With QUT on SevisPass Digital Identity Research
Papua New Guinea’s government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Queensland University of Technology to support digital transformation, public-sector innovation, and research around the SevisPass Digital Identity Ecosystem. The agreement, signed in Brisbane and witnessed by Prime Minister James Marape, sets a framework for collaboration on research, knowledge exchange, workforce development, and future digital government projects. Acting ICT Minister Peter Tsiamalili Jr. said follow-on agreements will still need to settle procurement, intellectual property, cybersecurity, licensing, funding, and data-sovereignty issues as the country builds out SevisPass and related digital services.
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team