Transparency and trust key to digital identity, says DINZ

Digital Identity New Zealand (DINZ) — a division of the NZ Tech Alliance — says 2020 will see the emergence of collaborative solutions that will enable people to take control of their identity information and reduce the “painful friction” associated with online interactions.

The organisation has identified transparency and trust as key factors in the local development of digital identity, with executive director Andrew Weaver saying New Zealanders were presently living in an environment of low trust, if not mistrust.

“In Aotearoa, there is a growing awareness of the enabling potential of a well-designed digital identity framework, and this year, that awareness will start to translate into action,” he said.

“We believe organisations that promote and respect individual and community information will be the success stories of the 2020s.”

He said the government was working on delivering a trust framework that would bring greater certainty to the New Zealand environment and will enable organisations to innovate and invest with greater confidence.

In December 2018 the government committed $5.15m to funding research into digital identity over two years to look at how government could set up the right rules and environment, and take advantage of new technologies, to meet the evolving needs and expectations of citizens.

Weaver said communities were increasingly pushing back on invasive and murky methods of advertising and monetisation of personal information.

“Tech companies are starting to realise that offering customers choice when it comes to privacy is no longer an optional extra, yet the lifeblood of those tech behemoths continues to be information and data that is generated by its customers.”

In June 2019, DINZ reported the results of a survey of New Zealanders saying it showed 79 percent were concerned about the protection of their identity and use of personal data by organisations, 

Eighty five percent of respondents said there was a lack of transparency, and expressed concern about having to share data with many organisations.