Identity Working Group
Purpose
The Identity Working Group aims to facilitate the exchange of ideas, best practices and domain-specific knowledge between the digital identity and blockchain communities, including researchers, governments and international institutions.
The Working Group supports and fosters the creation of an identity ecosystem for interoperable, trusted blockchain services. We can achieve such an ecosystem by providing compliance and foundational layers for the governance and interoperability of identity systems for use in blockchain applications.
Objectives
The WG has agreed on three objectives around which it will carry out its annual work:
- - Create a positioning on how trust is defined in decentralised identity and how trust in SSI services can be evaluated/assessed in the different parts of the world
- - Fostering dialogue with the EU policymakers and decision-makers around the topic of eIDAS and the upcoming EU Digital ID
- - Organise and run workshops focused on interoperability with stakeholders from projects such as DHS Silicon Valley Innovation Program, EBSI-ESSIF, ESSIF-Lab, Canadian SSI projects, ToIP, etc.
- - Collaborate with the INATBA standardisation committee with a focus on 'ISO TC 307', 'ITUT' and 'CEN-CENELEC' to coordinate projects and documents.
Outputs
In 2021, the Working Group plans to:
Further the reach of its SSI paper, build bilateral engagement with DGs Connect and Just, organise a roundtable with the Privacy Working Group on the impact of privacy regulations on decentralised identity and organise a technical-oriented event for SSI-based projects.
Work to Date
The Identity Working Group published a position paper on decentralised identity with a focus on self-sovereign identity and hosted a follow-up event debating the paper's stances. Members of the Working Group participated in bilateral discussions on the reviewed version of the eIDAS and responded to the European Commission's public consultation on the eIDAS regulatory framework.
Why is it essential?
Identity plays an essential role for trusted blockchain applications. It is needed to create a collaborative context with a high level of transparency to encourage honest and good players to provide business value-added functions and supports governance and interoperability.
