A coalition of digital rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), has launched a new campaign urging reforms to the ISO 18013-5 standard for mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs). The initiative, titled “No Phone Home,” raises concerns that the current version of the standard could enable the tracking of when and where digital IDs are presented.
Privacy Concerns Around mDL Standards
ISO 18013-5 outlines how mobile driver’s licenses can be issued, stored, and verified, including support for both offline and online verification modes. Privacy advocates argue that the online mode, if implemented without restrictions, could allow issuing authorities or third parties to log ID presentations, potentially creating detailed records of a person’s movements and activities.
The campaign’s recommendations include requiring offline verification capabilities by default, enforcing data minimization practices that limit what is shared during ID checks, and establishing clearer oversight mechanisms to prevent misuse. While the ISO standard permits privacy-preserving implementations, the coalition argues that stronger guardrails are needed to ensure that privacy protections are built in by design.
Growing Adoption and Ongoing Debate
The campaign comes as mDL adoption continues to expand in the United States. States such as New Mexico and Iowa have launched programs allowing residents to store their licenses in Apple or Google Wallets, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) continues to support mDL use at participating airport checkpoints equipped with digital ID scanners. However, TSA policy still requires travelers to carry a physical ID, and only mDLs from approved states are currently accepted.
Recent events such as the California DMV Hackathon have highlighted expanding mDL use cases, while technology providers continue to demonstrate conformance with the ISO standard through independent testing. Though often described as “certified,” these validations are conducted via third-party labs rather than a formal ISO certification process.
The outcome of the “No Phone Home” campaign could shape how digital ID systems are designed and implemented across the country. Advocates hope that increased attention to privacy and transparency will influence future revisions of international standards and guide government adoption of privacy-protective digital identification systems.
Source: StateScoop
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June 2, 2025 – by Cass Kennedy
