By Matheus Darós Pagani
CEO of 4CADIA Foundation
Even in the 21st century, proving one’s identity can be a challenge to lots of peoples. In poorer countries, identification systems are not generally available to larger amounts of their populations. In the last few years, lots of countries saw hosts of people fleeing from their motherlands due to wars, epidemics, or religious intolerance. Many arrived in other countries without having a single identification document.
The World Bank estimates that near 1.5 billion people around the world have no means to prove their identities. 45% of these peoples are among the poorest ones in the planet. This kind of deprivation often generates negative externalities regarding the access to a number of services, either public or private.
Without identification documents, It is impossible to have access to basic conditions, such as opening a bank account or to rent a property. The access to public healthcare services, or to education and social assistance can also be vetoed to people without identification. They also have no right to vote and cannot exercise control over the government. Even the right to seek asylum at an embassy is denied to those deprived of so basic a right as to be recognized by the State and by society.
Paper-based identification systems are extremely subjected to fraud, robbery, mishandling, or loss in case of a natural calamity, wars, or epidemics. Right now, the better share of the identification systems in the wire are kept in the database of governments which are run by softwares subjected to uncountable types of failures. Violation of personal datas amounted to 97% of the virtual attacks in 2018. There is a billionaire information market that make this kind of data the subject of every kind of attack.
The Blockchain technology offers a diverse a wide number of advantages that solutions use it today cannot offer in terms of digital identification. Among the possible benefits of using the blockchain technology is: cost reduction, fraud protection, transparency and efficiency in the registration system that is a decent on the immutable data network, e no at every information belongs directly to the user, preventing robberies or fraudulent adulteration.
Many projects of digital identification are already in development in many countries in the world. Among these are products of BanQu, AID:Tech, uPort, Civic, and Securekey. In BanQu’s case, a blockchain basic platforms offered to users to access bank services through a mobile device. The platform stores records of transactions and purchases of goods and services, serving as well to prove the identity of a user in a global net of transactions. Therefore a kind of economic passport is created which allows to bypass the absence of a civil register centralizing in the state. This might be very useful to inhabitants poor countries or two individuals in process of migration or settling in a new country. And more importantly: the user has control over the kind of information available on the network.
Other solutions are being implemented by governments. This is the case of Estonia, a pioneer and digital identification using this new technology. The models have challenges that need to be faced, regarding the new regulations such as GPDR. With your involvement we can progressed more rapidly to build this decentralized future together
