The World Bank Seeks to Replace Your Signature with Your Biometrics
The World Bank published a policy note document in September giving guidance in regards to its goal of helping develop an electronic signature framework (including biometric authentication) for legal recognition and trust. Theoretically, this digital authentication method could become a key asset of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital ID, a universal basic income (UBI) and social credit score, although these programs are not discussed in this document.
This policy note is a reference document for consideration from governments, development partners, academics and others when considering, designing, implementing, or managing national electronic signature ecosystems, according to the document’s disclaimer notice. It is technical literature for national governments looking to implement digital ID frameworks.
Interestingly, the World Bank’s ID4D initiative appears to be a digital ID for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The SDG’s are a vast array of globalist goals which are talked about extensively by the United Nations (U.N.), including in their document from September calling for world government. The ID4D would apparently be required for people to access services and exercise their rights.
“The World Bank Group’s Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative uses global knowledge and expertise across sectors to help countries realize the transformational potential of digital identification systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It operates across the World Bank Group with global practices and units working on digital development, social protection, health, financial inclusion, governance, gender, and legal, among others,” the document said on page 7. “The mission of ID4D is to enable all people to access services and exercise their rights, by increasing the number of people who have an official form of identification. ID4D makes this happen through its three pillars of work: thought leadership and analytics to generate evidence and fill knowledge gaps; global platforms and convening to amplify good practices, collaborate, and raise awareness; and country and regional engagement to provide financial and technical assistance for the implementation of robust, inclusive, and responsible digital identification systems that are integrated with civil registration.”
Notably, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a key player in the ID4D initiative.
“The work of ID4D is made possible with support from the World Bank Group, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Government, the French Government, the Australian Government, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and the Omidyar Network,” the document said on page 7.
The document’s body begins on page 8. It detailed the pitfalls of physical signatures, the hurdles physical signatures have in the digital space and the characteristics of a digital ID system as it relates to ‘trust’ frameworks, or rather, the ability to accurately link a real human to their digital activity.
Page 32 and 33 in Chapter 6.1 discuss technical implementation methods for digital identification, including examples that include biometrics and requirements for people to have a modern smartphone.
The document began with an important disclosure which detailed the nature of this work.
