UK's Digital ID walks into a bar... two months after being killed off

The UK's national digital ID scheme was shut down this summer, yet as of today, individuals can utilize digital ID to confirm they are of legal drinking age. Effective from Tuesday, pubs, bars, restaurants, music venues, and shops in England and Wales may accept digital proof of age for selling alcohol, enabling customers to utilize an app on their phone instead of searching for a driver's license or passport.

The modification is optional, and neither businesses nor customers are obligated to employ it. The government acknowledges that the technology may require time to gain widespread acceptance.

Although the national digital ID program proposed under Keir Starmer's predecessor has been discontinued, the underlying Digital Verification Services (DVS) framework remains operational. To be acknowledged for alcohol purchases, digital proof of age must be provided via a DVS certified under the government's trust framework and registered on its statutory list.

Despite the national Digital ID program being scrapped, GOV.UK One Login, GOV.UK Wallet, and the existing framework for private-sector digital verification services will persist. The DVS framework was in place before Starmer's national Digital ID plan.

The government intends to retain its proposed digital driving license, stating that GOV.UK Wallet and the digital driving license are distinct from the digital proof-of-age services introduced today, although the wallet is anticipated to offer an alternative method for proving age when purchasing alcohol in the future. Presently, third-party providers are granted precedence at the bar.

Yoti claims its Yoti ID and Post Office EasyID applications can now serve as proof of age when businesses choose to accept them, while Luciditi states its ID verification service is being integrated into point-of-sale and Challenge 25 systems. This is not merely a matter of presenting a phone to anyone at the bar. Businesses accepting digital proof must utilize a registered DVS, rather than depending on a person visually examining an app or a screenshot of another person's ID.

The ID must attain a minimum medium level of confidence, and providers must have a method to confirm that it belongs to the individual holding the phone. In practice, the government anticipates the experience to be as straightforward as displaying a QR code for staff to scan or tapping a phone against a compatible reader. Instead of handing over a driver's license containing a name, address, and date of birth, customers can share confirmation that they are over 18.

However, there are limitations. Facial age estimation and other age-assurance technologies are not covered by the change and cannot substitute a registered DVS when conducting a digital alcohol age check. Digital proof can be utilized at self-service checkout terminals, but retailers must still have human personnel to manage analog issues such as intoxicated customers and adults buying alcohol for minors.

Consequently, the grand national Digital ID scheme may have joined the ranks of government technology projects that never reached completion, but the infrastructure surrounding it is gradually making its way into everyday life, starting with the crucial task of serving customers.