Digital Identities: the missing link in a UK digital economy

During London Tech Week, techUK hosted a webinar discussing the findings and recommendations of techUK’s new White Paper: ‘Digital identities: the missing link in a UK digital economy’, as well as the Government’s recent Response to the Call for Evidence on digital ID. We were joined by expert panellists:

• Lord Clement-Jones, Liberal Democrat Digital Spokesperson in the House of Lords
• Frank Joshi, Managing Director, Mvine Ltd
• Chuka Umunna, Executive Director, Digital Identity Net 

The event played host to a fascinating conversation covering a wide and diverse range of actions required of both industry and Government in order to establish a digital identity market in the UK. The panel were agreed that digital identities are an essential component of a digital economy and, whilst the Government had set out good, sensible principles in its Response, the document lacked clarity in terms of action. Industry needs certainty on what, and whether, regulation is to come to enable investment decisions to be made.

During the conversation, key issues surrounding trust in the technology were raised, and the need for Government to work in collaboration with the private sector to drive progress on standards, interoperability and a trust framework. Speakers highlighted that industry must illustrate clearly the benefits of digital identity technology to consumers and Government alike, framing arguments effectively to deliver the right message that speaks to the core priorities of Government – namely, the economy, the fight against fraud and the COVID recovery – and to demonstrate the positive impact such technology can have on the lives of ordinary people.

techUK is committed to working closely with Government and will continue to make the case for this technology, so that digital ID is established as a strategically important tool in the future growth and digitalisation of the UK economy.