Decoding the California DMV's Mobile Driver's License

The State of California is currently rolling out a “mobile driver’s license” (mDL), a form of digital identification that raises significant privacy and equity concerns. This post explains the new smartphone application, explores the risks, and calls on the state and its vendor to focus more on protection of the users.

What is the California DMV Wallet?

The California DMV Wallet app came out in app stores last year as a pilot, offering the ability to store and display your mDL on your smartphone, without needing to carry and present a traditional physical document. Several features in this app replicate how we currently present the physical document with key information about our identity—like address, age, birthday, driver class, etc.

However, other features in the app provide new ways to present the data on your driver’s license. Right now, we only take out our driver’s license occasionally throughout the week. However, with the app’s QR Code and “add-on” features, the incentive for frequency may grow. This concerns us, given the rise of age verification laws that burden everyone’s access to the internet, and the lack of comprehensive consumer data privacy laws that keep businesses from harvesting and selling identifying information and sensitive personal information.

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Decoding the California DMV's Mobile Driver's License

The State of California is currently rolling out a “mobile driver’s license” (mDL), a form of digital identification that raises significant privacy and equity concerns. This post explains the new smartphone application, explores the risks, and calls on the state and its vendor to focus more on...

www.eff.org

 

[Baby Yoda]

his concerns us, given the rise of age verification laws that burden everyone’s access to the internet, and the lack of comprehensive consumer data privacy laws that keep businesses from harvesting and selling identifying information and sensitive personal information.

Digital ID. Ugh.

 

[Tall Timbers]

Wyoming, possibly the most conservative state in the Union, was an early adopter of Real ID and there's no choice in the state. Alaska. when they adopted Real ID later than most, offered and continue to offer a choice of Real ID or the old fashioned driver's licenses.

 

[Margery]

Here in BC our ability to access health care is tied into our driver's license and if the person is too young/old or not able to have a license for some reason, there is a BC ID card with the health care card on that.

There is a TON of info now on our DL card in that chip. Everything from the Health Care which is access to ALL our medical records as everything was digitized a decade and a half back. I can go to a dr in a completely different city and he or she can pull up all my medical records from hospitalizations to diagnoses and treatments. All current and past medications, allergies and so forth. The pharmacist I go to has full access to all meds and some records. If I'm stopped by the police, I have to give them my license and they have access to some not all of this stuff. How much is held back is a mystery. I think they can probably access it all.

When I made my last 2 unsuccessful visits to ICBC to renew my license which is our equivalent of the state DMV, they had a bunch of TVs on all the walls running ads to convince people to sign the organ donor box when you renew.

I'm not a heartless person, but I refuse because in my province, here in Canada you don't need to give the medical people more incentives to kill you off early and grab your vital organs and run with them. Sign that thing and if you are in an accident they won't see you as salvageable, but as a mobile organ donation unit ready to give your utmost for others.

I see them tomorrow afternoon at 2 and plan to say no thank you! Keeping all my bits and parts nice and handy where I can still use them and hopefully survive with them all onboard.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

Minnesota still gives the option of having a regular instead of real or enhanced DL.
Since Canada allows us in with enhanced DL and US allows us back in, and they're also real ID compliant, I got enhanced for convenience. Also because some buildings are requiring it or passport for access. It was a royal pain in the neck because I went straight from non-real DL (Missouri) to Enhanced (Minnesota) because I was too cheap to pay the extra $20 to get a non-real or real before getting enhanced and having to pay for a "duplicate" license. I also didn't want to make any more trips to DVS than I had to.

Even though I don't plan on doing something wrong, stuff happens, mistakes can be made, some "religious police," and some muslim LE are violating women and girls' rights here, so important to have passport card and passport, in addition to enhanced DL

"Papers please."

Wonder how long until religious preference is annotated on everything, like it is in other parts of the world