Is it time for an online driver’s license?
Now before you get all sensitive about your privacy, take a minute and think about this: we don’t have any problems handing out credit cards at gas stations, business cards at trade shows, or drivers licenses at motels, all to complete strangers who if they wanted, could use the information to their benefit.
What makes disclosing our information online so different?
No, I don’t mean that every website should have access to our private information, and I understand perfectly that one of the most unique aspects of the Web is its anonymity. But for anyone who wants to run online businesses, review products, or provide local services, doesn’t it makes sense to ensure their customers that at the very least, it’s a real person behind all the operations?
It isn’t all that difficult.
All we need is a reputable and trustworthy organization to collect and verify all of our “sensitive” personal data, and assign an unique id to us — just like a driver’s license. The infrastructures are already pretty much in place. Gmail addresses, Facebook usernames, and MSN Messenger ids could all be used as identifications. What’s missing, of course, is just the final verification and authentication process.
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