The Biden administration is reportedly preparing to launch an initiative that could significantly alter the way Americans prove their identities. A draft executive order, which has been reviewed by journalists from Notus (a new, Washington DC-based publication), would push for the widespread adoption of mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) and other forms of digital identification.
If implemented, this would mark a fundamental shift in how citizens interact with government and private sector services online — everything from how you access public benefits to how you verify your age before viewing adult-only content online.
The party line is that we need digital IDs because the government incurred staggering losses as a result of fraudulent claims during the pandemic. Over $100 billion was reportedly lost to unscrupulous unemployment claims between March 2020 and March 2023. Rather than understanding that government had failed in its duty to properly vet claimaints, the Biden administration would rather have us believe these failures highlight vulnerabilities in current identity verification systems such as physical driver’s licenses, which have proven easy to forge. The rise of AI-driven “deep fake” technology just makes matters worse.
They say digital IDs, supported by biometric technologies like facial recognition, are a robust solution. By moving identity documents onto smartphones, the government hopes to create a more secure and efficient way for Americans to verify their identities when accessing both public and private services online.
According to the draft of the executive order obtained by Notus, the Biden administration intends to “strongly encourage the use of digital identity documents” across federal and state levels. The order would mandate federal agencies to adopt a unified identity verification system, Login.gov, as the primary gateway for accessing federal websites. This system would also be made available to state and local governments for integration into their services.
Hellbound and Down 