Regulatory Change Opens Door to Selfie ID in Germany: IDnow

IDnow is commending Germany’s Federal Network Agency (aka the Bundesnetzagentur) for a decision that clears the way for new forms of identity verification in the country. The decision was made in conjunction with the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), and specifically approves the use of identity verification methods that rely on AI technologies.

That includes the biometric and document recognition solutions that have become increasingly popular in the past few years. For example, IDnow is best known for its own AutoIdent platform, which uses AI both to verify the authenticity of a government document and to match the image on that ID to the face of the person holding it.

The decision builds on the German Trust Services Act, which enacts the European Union’s new eIDAS regulations within the country. In doing so, the decision is expected to facilitate Germany’s digital transformation and create more demand for automated identity technologies.

For its part, IDnow believes that it is well-positioned to capitalize on those emerging market opportunities. The company has already received Bundesnetzagentur accreditation as a corporate entity, and is now working to obtain accreditation for the AutoIdent platform itself. IDnow has also patented an automated digital identity system with the European Patent Office.

“We are pleased that the regulatory authorities have now finally opened up to technological development in Germany and we see our efforts and years of research into the development of our own AI technology confirmed,” said IDnow Co-Founder and CTO Armin Bauer.

“IDnow, as one of the leading European platform providers, will be able to offer additional, automated identification methods to numerous other industries in Europe,” added CEO Andreas Bodczek. “This is an essential step towards a digital future in Germany and for Europe and shows that the time for secure digital identities has come.”

In November, AutoIdent became the first solution to achieve the Substantial Level of Assurance under the new eIDAS regulations. IDnow itself has previously noted that the volume of selfie authentication requests skyrocketed in the wake of COVID-19.

–

(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)