Our 18-month investigation reveals how digital identity systems create brittle societies. This foreword traces eight case studies that demonstrate the catastrophic failures of digital identity across Estonia, the US, Israel, Ukraine, and beyond.
  • machiavellian@lemmy.ml
    7·
    1 day ago

    While I agree with the overall premise, it’s not a great article. The author just quotes facts while drawing no relevant conclusions or wrong conclusions.

    The fact that there is fraud in Estonia, like any other country, is, I imagine, due to people being stupid. In my country most fraud cases are grandmas handing off their pensions to randos to help their grandchild escape prison or to help with a super secret government mission to catch thieves. Similar to the classic Nigerian prince schemes. Not once does the author mention how digital ID’s are connected to fraud or how they enabled money laundering.

    I hope that the author is just not that great of a writer and not malicious because throwing in scary statistics and names like Palantir without making any conclusion as to how digital ID’s could exarcebate the problem, really feels like fearmongering.

    Nevertheless, I quite liked the website design and the extensive quotation of sources.

      • machiavellian@lemmy.ml
        3·
        21 hours ago

        Will do. Also rereading my first comment I realised that I was perhaps overly negative which was not at all my intention. Apologies.

        While your here, I wanted to ask if I missed anything from the article or is my criticism valid?

        • Shibco@leminal.spaceOPEnglish
          1·
          19 hours ago

          The article is the opening foreword for a larger report on digital identity that we have been publishing for the last few months. We had to pause recently, for reasons beyond our control, but everything in the article is backed up by either chapters already published on the site, or by forthcoming chapters.

          • Mugita Sokio@discuss.onlineEnglish
            2·
            15 hours ago

            I could certainly see why some things were short for this first chapter. I skimmed through it a bit, and I wasn’t surprised at some of the things (even if I didn’t know them). Have you looked into the highest levels of governance behind it, such as the Roman Catholic Church and the Jesuit Order making statements about it?