It’s a brisk autumn in 2025, and the debate over digital identity is heating up on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s government has announced plans for a mandatory digital ID system, aiming to modernize identity verification and curb illegal migration. Meanwhile, across the ocean, Utah officials are pitching their own vision for a privacy-centered, optional digital identity—one that’s winning cautious approval from privacy advocates. And in the world of commerce, Visa has just unveiled a partnership with Proof, a compliance and fraud prevention platform, promising to revolutionize how identity is verified in high-value transactions. As digital IDs move from concept to reality, the world is watching, divided and curious: Will these new systems protect us from fraud, or expose us to new risks?
On October 23, 2025, the UK government revealed its intention to roll out digital ID cards as authoritative proof of identity and residency status. The cards, which would live on citizens’ smartphones, are designed to include a person’s name, date of birth, nationality or residency status, and a photo for biometric security. According to Metro, the government insists there will be no requirement to carry the digital ID at all times, but it will be mandatory for proving the right to work and for residency checks.
Officials hope the digital ID will do more than just tighten employment verification. They say it could streamline access to public services such as education and social benefits, reduce identity fraud, and make private sector verification—like opening a bank account or proving age—more efficient. The government also plans to enable digital IDs for voting in elections. “It’s the authoritative proof of who someone is and their residency status in this country,” a government spokesperson told Metro, underscoring the ambition to have the system in place before the next general election, though the official rollout date remains unconfirmed.
Not everyone is convinced. Within hours of the announcement, a petition urging Prime Minister Starmer to scrap the digital ID plan had garnered over a million signatures. Human rights campaigners, including Big Brother Watch, have labeled the proposal “dystopian,” and some Brits are threatening to ditch their smartphones for old-school Nokia 3310s if the scheme moves forward. The backlash is fierce, reflecting deep public skepticism about government data collection and surveillance.
Cybersecurity experts also have their reservations. Professor Manos Panaousis of the University of Greenwich told Metro, “The attacks can target the back end of the infrastructure, which would obviously create big issues. Or they could look at simpler attacks and steps to target the user directly.” He warned that sophisticated criminals might exploit vulnerabilities through deep-fake biometric spoofing or by attacking the AI and machine learning algorithms underpinning the system. “If a whole database is attacked by organised crime abroad or terrorists, then it has a huge impact, comparable to losing a database of passwords,” he said. The key, he argued, is to design cybersecurity measures from the ground up and to educate users about the potential risks.
The government, for its part, maintains that security is at the heart of the digital ID project. Officials claim the system will use “state-of-the-art encryption and user authentication to ensure data is held and accessed securely.” Additionally, if a phone is lost or stolen, digital ID credentials can be “immediately revoked and reissued, providing better security than traditional physical documents.”
While the UK’s approach is mandatory and sweeping, Utah is betting on a different model. On October 22, 2025, state officials and privacy advocates promoted Utah’s State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI) initiative, mandated by the passage of SB 260 earlier in the year. Unlike the UK’s system, Utah’s digital ID is optional, and its architects are touting privacy and user control as core features. The initiative builds on Utah’s earlier mobile driver’s license (mDL) program, launched in 2021, but SEDI is distinct in that it “endorses” rather than “bestows” identity, and it’s designed to comply with self-sovereign identity (SSI) principles.
Christopher Bramwell, Utah’s Chief Privacy Officer, told KUTV, “The whole point is to give you control of your identity so no one can impersonate you.” Bramwell emphasized that the new digital ID will not track users or log their interactions, and will use a decentralized data storage model to enhance privacy and security. “The laws and the parameters to establish its safety and security, and the principles of freedom around that, are getting put into place,” Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore added, highlighting the state’s legislative commitment to privacy.
Utah’s SEDI is intended for use in accessing government services, passing airport security checks, and conducting transactions with the private sector. It also has built-in delegation capabilities, allowing parents or guardians to act on behalf of children or vulnerable adults. The architecture is designed so that, in the event of a state IT breach, Utah would not need to reissue all digital IDs—a significant advantage over centralized systems. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has endorsed the initiative, especially for its protections against “phone home” features that could allow remote tracking, a concern in many other mobile driver’s license implementations.
Despite these assurances, public skepticism lingers. Some Utahns, commenting on local news sites, have dismissed the privacy claims as hollow, reflecting a broader distrust of digital identity systems. Still, more than 103,000 people were enrolled in Utah’s mDL program as of June 2025, and over 4.5 million Americans have mDLs across 11 states, according to Government Technology. SEDI is being developed by the Utah Department of Government Operations, while the mDL program is managed by the Driver License Division of the Department of Public Safety. Both are designed to comply with ISO 18013-5 and -7 standards, ensuring a degree of interoperability and security.
Globally, digital IDs are already a fact of life in many countries. Estonia’s pioneering system allows citizens to access government services and even vote electronically. China introduced a compulsory digital ID in July 2025, expanding state surveillance capabilities. India’s Aadhaar system, the world’s largest biometric ID program, has been both praised for its reach and criticized for privacy concerns. In the United States, several states have launched their own digital ID initiatives, with Colorado leading the way in 2019 and California starting a pilot in 2022. Singapore’s SingPass, Italy’s electronic ID, the UAE’s facial recognition-based digital ID, and Australia’s digital identification for private services all reflect a global trend toward digitized identity—each with its own balance of convenience, privacy, and control.
In the private sector, the stakes are just as high. On October 23, 2025, Visa announced a partnership with Proof, a compliance and fraud prevention platform, to bolster digital identity verification in high-value and high-risk payments, digital commerce, agreements, and banking. “Trusted digital identity is the next frontier for enabling secure commerce,” said Daniel Sanford, Visa’s senior vice president for Global Products and Initiatives, in a company news release. The partnership aims to combine Visa’s global payments network with Proof’s identity authorization network, offering what they describe as the “EMV chip for digital identity.” The companies argue that rising fraud and identity theft—fueled by advances in artificial intelligence—make robust digital ID systems more critical than ever.
Michael Jabbara, Visa’s head of payment ecosystem risk and control, told PYMNTS, “The only way to fight bad AI is with even better AI.” He explained that fraudsters are using sophisticated tools to target more victims, more rapidly, than ever before. Insufficient digital identity systems, Visa argues, are costing companies nearly $95 billion in lost revenue annually, not just from fraud but also from missed growth, false declines, and eroded customer trust.
As digital IDs become a reality, the world faces a crossroads: Will these systems deliver on their promises of security and convenience, or will they usher in new risks and deeper divisions? For now, governments, businesses, and citizens alike are weighing the trade-offs—one digital credential at a time.
