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Digital ID

Lawmakers advancing digital ID in effort to establish mass surveillance

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3 minute read

Digital ID Schemes Make Strides in Congress Despite Rights Advocate Opposition

It’s one of the “commandments” of global organizations like the UN, and the World Bank, to name but two, and also those less official ones like the WEF and the Gates Foundation: the digital ID.

And in the US, lawmakers have for years been struggling with the concept, heavily criticized by rights advocates for its ability to take mass surveillance to the next level.

On the one hand, the lawmakers have (or are supposed to have) their existing laws and constitutional protections in mind, but on the other, new legislation is cropping up both from Democrats and Republicans that signals a more or less slow creep towards the ultimate digital ID goal.

At the state level, the push is mostly focused on mobile driver’s licenses.

But the proponents of the schemes – who insist that the unprecedented centralization of personal information will provide for more trust and security – want things to start moving faster at the federal level, too.

One of the main cheerleaders here is Congressman Bill Foster, a Democrat. In September, he reintroduced a bill that, if adopted, would produce something called, the Improving Digital Identity Act.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

That, in turn, would set up an Improving Digital Identity Task Force, which would operate as part of the president’s Executive Office, whose main task would be getting rid of physical credentials in favor of digital ones.

Meanwhile, the act wants the government to look into all the ways it could provide solutions for Americans to prove their identity on the internet.

This isn’t the only legislative effort Foster has been involved in lately, particularly on the “reintroduction old proposals” front; in June, he and Congressman Clay Higgins, a Republican, worked together to make sure the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) submits a report to Congress informing its members “on its use of digital identities and their potential impact on homeland security.”

That one has made its way through a relevant committee but is yet to clear the House.

Like many of his digital ID-championing peers, Foster likes to talk about the promised positive side of things: less fraud and identity theft, and safer transactions.

He even managed to work the “deepfakes menace” into the message, claiming that this is another thing a future, deeply controversial digital ID system would be able to take care of.

Digital ID

Canada releases new digital ID app for personal documents despite privacy concerns

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The new GC Wallet is supposed to be a ‘foundational component’ of a controversial yet-to-come digital ID system.

Despite clear signs that most Canadians do not want a national digital ID, the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney has quietly released a new type of digital ID app on Google’s Play Store called GC Wallet.

The new app appeared on Google sometime late last week and was developed by Canada’s Employment and Social Development department. This is the same department, as reported by LifeSiteNews, that recently said it would move ahead with digital identification for anyone seeking federal benefits, including seniors on Old Age Security.

The new GC Wallet, say officials, is a “secure and convenient way to store and access your official digital credentials,” allowing users to keep important documents on it, such as temporary visas along with pilot licenses, and has an offline QR code function built in.

According to the government, the new GC Wallet is supposed to be a “foundational component” of a yet-to-come digital ID system that most likely will be expanded to a variety of documents.

The app was blasted on X by Kyle Kemper, the half-brother of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In an X post late last week, Kemper claimed the new app can “use your device’s camera to scan QR codes and import credentials issued by authorized institutions. Present your digital documents using dynamic QR codes or secure on-screen displays, making it easy to verify your identity and other information at airport boarding gates and other checkpoints.”

“The government of Canada has silently deployed a digital wallet on the Google Play Store for Digital ID. They have also cancelled an industry RFP process. I am digging into this and will offer detailed comments soon,” he wrote.

The GC Wallet is under development and, according to the feds, is “part of a limited Government of Canada pilot and is intended solely for use by approved participants.

The app is not available for broad public use at this time.

Last week, as reported by LifeSiteNews, without oversight from elected federal MPs, Canada’s Department of Immigration had research done to investigate a national ID system using digital passports for domestic use and how such a system would be enforced.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government hired outside consultants tasked with looking into whether or not officials should proceed with creating a digital ID system for all citizens and residents.

As per a May 20 Digital Credentials Issue memo, as noted by Blacklock’s Reporter, the “adoption” of such a digital ID system may be difficult.”

Digital IDs and similar systems have long been pushed by globalist groups like the World Economic Forum, an organization with which Carney has extensive ties, under the guise of ease of access and security.

One of Canada’s most staunchly pro-life MPs, Leslyn Lewis, recently warned Canadians to be “on guard” against a push by the ruling Liberal Party to bring forth Digital IDs, saying they should be voluntary.

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Digital ID

Canada considers creating national ID system using digital passports for domestic use

Published on

Fr0m LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The Department of Immigration has had research done to investigate digital passports as an identity document, but MPs have soundly rejected the idea as dangerous and costly.

Without oversight from elected federal MPs, Canada’s Department of Immigration had research done to investigate a national ID system using digital passports for domestic use and how such a system would be enforced.

According to Access to Information documents, a senior analyst wrote in a staff email, “One of the things that came up in our discussions with Canadian Digital Services is the assumption the passport would be used within Canada as an identity document.”

“This warrants a policy discussion,” the staff email added.

MPs have soundly rejected any national ID system as both dangerous and costly.

According to internal records, managers at the immigration department put a new question regarding national ID into a 2024 voluntary Passport Client Experience Survey.

The files do not say who requested the new question to be added, and no MPs, Senators, or even Canada’s own Privacy Commissioner were told about this question.

Liberal MP Marc Miller, who is now Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture but was then the Immigration Minister, offered no comment to the media when asked early this year about why the new question was inserted in the passport survey.

The question was asked, “How comfortable would you be sharing a secure digital version of the passport within Canada as an identity document?”

Responses were given as “very comfortable,” “comfortable,” “neutral,” “not comfortable,” or “not comfortable at all.”

One of Canada’s most staunchly pro-life MPs, Leslyn Lewis, recently warned Canadians to be “on guard” against a push by the ruling Liberal Party to bring forth Digital IDs, saying they should be voluntary.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government hired outside consultants tasked with looking into whether or not officials should proceed with creating a digital ID system for all citizens and residents.

Per a May 20 Digital Credentials Issue memo, and as noted by Blacklock’s Reporter, the “adoption” of such a digital ID system may be difficult.

Canada’s Privy Council research from 2023 noted that there is strong public resistance to the use of digital IDs to access government services.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Carney federal government plans to move ahead with digital identification for anyone seeking federal benefits, including seniors on Old Age Security.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sounded the alarm by promising to introduce a bill that would “expressly prohibit” digital IDs in Canada.

Digital IDs and similar systems have long been pushed by globalist groups like the World Economic Forum, an organization with which Carney has extensive ties, under the guise of ease of access and security.

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