Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about this.
On the one hand, it sounds like it would be really neat if I was in my 20s and still likely to get carded in a bar.
Being able to wave my phone at a doorman’s phone, or reader and share only my valid age is cool and safer than handing my drivers license to a doorman where he may or may not be taking a picture of all the information on the front of my license.
Back in the day the technology wasn’t there for someone to surreptitiously photograph that kind of information. The doorman or bouncer had a flashlight, could do the math, and decided if you could get in to the place, or not.
Now… holy crap! With the little lit up stations for reading an ID in some bars a camera could easily be embedded in the lamp itself. You might not be safe at all, especially if you’re a woman worried about attracting a stalker.
Having the ability to wave my phone at the TSA guy might also be cool… If I traveled via Air or Train. Typically, I don’t travel in venues that are TSA controlled.
So, for me maybe this isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread. I’d also like being able to store my Passport data in the Secure Enclave inside my phone.
Again, I don’t do a lot of traveling but, that would be very cool and my passport already has the data encoded somehow within it. I think it would be fairly easy to transfer that data to my phone and negate my having to carry a passport if I went to Mexico or Canada.
Come to think of it I should check the countries that my passport card is valid to use. There are some countries that need the big book and others that accept just the card.
I haven’t heard anything about the State Department looking into digital IDs on phones.
Anyway.
I was thinking about Voter ID too. If you think about it, your phone with Touch ID or with Facial recognition is essentially a portable biometric scanner.
Imagine setting up an authentication scanner at a polling place where you wave your phone at a scanner, the biometrics engage, your ID is confirmed with the State or even the Federal databases. Then you’re directed to the line where you get your ballot.
Talk about security! Automatic cross checks could be run to see if anyone else has attempted to vote on your behalf, with the Biometric data being the authoritative source.
Part of the set up process requires that you take pictures of the front and back of your driver license. Then you’re instructed to move your head around and send a picture to the DMV. I’m sure they’re collecting multiple facial recognition reference points by requiring that the person move their head around.
So there’s the security part.
AND
It’s also unfortunately, capable of providing advanced facial recognition data to the State which increases their surveillance capabilities.
If the government could be trusted, that wouldn’t be an issue. But the government has demonstrated time and again, especially in recent years that they absolutely can not be trusted to use data, secure data, or destroy data in any responsible way.
California screwed up a few years ago and leaked all the concealed carry applications they’d received. Both approved and not approved. The approval issue wasn’t the big deal, it was that every single application had the individuals address, and occupation. It’s a safe bet these folks had guns in their homes otherwise they wouldn’t have applied for concealed carry.
California painted a target on every single one of these people, with criminals.
I’m not sure that I want to give any government entity more ability to monitor my movements. Further, having my State ID plugged into my phone, creates a direct 1-1 association between my phone and government issued ID.
That could be misused to track me not just via my phone number, but literally all of the identifying numbers contained in the phone.
IMEI, IP, Phone Number, Serial Number, MAC address, you name it, all can be used to precisely track an individual phone.
Knowing that, I’m ambivalent if adding my digital ID is really changing the balance of privacy in any way. All the above information is literally already available. Does the ID really matter?
I suppose it’s going to come down to how / if having the digital ID on my phone helps me. I didn’t activate the COVID-19 exposure tracking function on my phone for two reasons. 1) There wasn’t anyplace that I could or needed to go. 2) It didn’t benefit me.
I was also concerned that it would add government intrusiveness into my life via a machine that I’d purchased. If they wanted that kind of information, then they could pay me monthly for the privilege.
I’m interested in this kind of thing. But I also respect there are a lot of ways to misuse benign data beyond what sharing the information was originally intended to allow.
I think I’ll keep doing research. This rollout isn’t going to happen for probably a few weeks and even then I don’t have to load my ID. I’m curious about it though.
At this point ya still have to carry your physical ID because in the pilot programs only the TSA might use it, and perhaps a few forward thinking bars & restaurants. It’s not like you can flash your phone at a police officer yet.
I’m not to the point of wearing a tin foil hat but I’ve got a roll of heavy duty foil in the drawer.
So, you crazed insane bitch. In the words of Elon Musk… GO FUCK YOURSELF!
This is also one of the reasons that humanity should be on their knees every morning and evening thanking God that I do not have a way off this planet or a space craft in orbit. 
After all, why would a bastion of the Democrat party, its supporters, and its policies, in a deep blue state like Chicago need police protection?