UK to introduce digital driving licences
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Digital driving licences are to be introduced in the UK as the government seeks to use technology to "transform public services".
They will be accessible on a new government smartphone app and can be accepted as a form of identification when buying alcohol, voting or boarding domestic flights.
Physical licences will still be issued, but ministers believe the voluntary digital option will "take government into the 2020s", according to the Times.
A government spokesman told BBC News: "This government is committed to using technology to make people's lives easier and transform public services.
"Technology now allows digital IDs to be more secure than physical IDs, but we are clear that they will not be mandatory."
Virtual licences can be used in supermarkets, the Times reported, allowing customers to verify their age without waiting for a member of staff. The new digital permits will be introduced later this year, the newspaper writes.
One potential feature could allow users to hide their address in certain situations, such as in bars or shops.
According to government data, there were more than 50 million holders of a full or provisional driving licence in the UK in 2023.
The digital permits have been launched as part of a "portfolio" in a new government app called Gov.uk.
The wallet would be secured in a similar way to many banking apps and would only allow the rightful owner of a licence to access it. It will use features found in many smartphones, such as biometrics and multi-factor authentication, such as security codes.
The government is considering integrating other services into the app, such as paying taxes and claiming social security benefits.
Other forms of identification, such as social security numbers, may be added, but it is unlikely that physical identification will be completely replaced.
The new technology does not appear to go far enough to become a full-scale digital ID card, as Sir Tony Blair and Lord William Hague have previously called for.
At the time, the head of privacy group Big Brother Watch said that such a move "would be one of the biggest attacks on privacy ever seen in the UK." In 2016, the head of the UK's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said that digital licenses are being developed.
Virtual licenses are already in use in Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway, as well as in some states in the United States.
In the European Union, every member state is required to introduce at least one form of digital identification by 2026.
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