Indonesia, Philippines, Kenya struggle with digital inclusion, South Korea expands verification

By Vaughn Hillyard Last updated Aug 3, 2021

Authorities in South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Kenya are grappling with multiple aspects of digital identity. South Korea plans to set up a mobile ID card verification service and a World Bank report suggests that Indonesia take steps to ensure that all of its citizens have access to digital technologies and services. In the Philippines, the recognition of PhilID as the only valid form of identity has been re-advocated, while stakeholders are proposing improvements to Kenya’s digital ID system to reduce exclusion and address human rights issues.

Mobile ID verification service in South Korea

The South Korean Ministry of the Interior and Security Says Citizens will soon be able to verify IDs on their smartphones with a government-run administrative service app, writes Korea Bizwire.

According to the ministry, the necessary infrastructure will be built in the first six months of the coming year so that citizens can identify themselves by phone without presenting a physical identity card, the report says.

This mobile verification, according to the authorities, can be done by the person simply by showing basic information from their card such as name, registration number, address and the card issuing office.

While the government has given assurances regarding the security and confidentiality of the data used through the service, it has announced that the mobile digital ID verification will be used primarily for alcohol checks, filing civil documents, boarding for air and sea travel, as well as other private ones Transactions.

More digital inclusion proposed in Indonesia

A World Bank report, titled Beyond Unicorns: Harnessing Digital Technologies for Inclusion in Indonesia, urges Indonesian authorities to balance the country’s status as the fastest growing digital economy in Southeast Asia with efforts to ensure more citizens have access To get digital technologies that are beneficial to them, reports India Education Diary.

The Outlet cites the World Bank report as suggesting three things Indonesia must do to promote digital inclusion. These include promoting digital connectivity and universalizing access to quality internet, ensuring that the digital economy works and benefits for all, and using digital technologies to provide improved public services to citizens.

“Tackling the digital divide goes beyond trying to reduce the connectivity gap. Helping citizens develop the skills to maximize digital opportunities, especially for better jobs, will be crucial. At the same time, it is equally important for the government to address the regulatory and business environment challenges to enable companies to innovate and compete effectively, ”the India Education Diary quoted the World Bank Country Director for Indonesia and Timor as saying -Leste Satu Kahkonen.

The report also calls on Indonesia to close the internet segregation between urban and rural communities and to introduce a national framework for digital IDs that allows citizens to seamlessly and securely prove their identity online.

“There are a number of ways that digital technologies can be used to promote better health care and improve access for the underserved, but these must be built on a foundation of reliable and interoperable data systems. The pandemic has created an unprecedented urgency to make this happen and has also created a momentum to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies, ”said Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

Repeated PhilID card as a financial inclusion tool

According to a report by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the Philippine identity card (PhilID) has been described as an important tool in promoting financial inclusion and a stepping stone to economic growth.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno was quoted as saying that they fully support the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), which is used in solving related issues, during the 2021 Recognition Ceremony of Outstanding BSP Stakeholders with ID, the lack of what has led to financial exclusion for many Filipinos.

“Our goal is to switch from a cash-heavy to a cashless society in which at least half of all financial transactions are processed digitally. Our further goal by 2023 is for at least 70 percent of the adult population to have a financial account. PhilSys will be a strategic enabler for a more inclusive new economy and bring us closer to our shared vision of prosperity for all, ”said Governor Diokno.

He reiterated BSP’s support for PSA, which is driving the PhilSys program, which has seen millions of PhilIDs being issued and millions of bank accounts being opened by previously unbanked Filipinos.

Recommended improvements to Kenya’s digital ID system

A publication by Research ICT Africa (RIA) as part of its BIO-ID project, which monitors digital ID systems in 10 African countries, has examined the shortcomings of the Huduma Namba system in Kenya and identified opportunities for improvement.

According to the RIA, there is a need for Kenya to focus digital identity registration on poor and marginalized people, who allegedly make up the largest percentage of those who do not have legal IDs.

Kenya, according to the report, must not focus solely on numbers, but adopt a more holistic and inclusive approach that also takes human rights issues into account, such as protecting people from the dangers that can arise from the use of their identity data.

In an interview that is part of a series on the RIA project, Grace Mutungu’u, an attorney for the High Court of Kenya and research fellow at Strathmore University’s Center for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT), says this is also much of the policy all around the ID means dangers for vulnerable and marginalized groups.

“Any new identity system should first solve longstanding problems for those who have difficulty accessing the document and prioritize those without identification … As we have experience with security agencies that use national ID cards to deny, arrest and move people to threaten is the new “The ID system should be designed according to a different paradigm,” Mutungu’u said in an interview.

Kenya’s Huduma Namba project has been shaken by controversy since it was launched. In the past, groups like the Nubian Rights Forum have called for certain reforms to prevent millions of citizens from being excluded or marginalized from the system.

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