Designing National Digital Identity Systems: Standards, Interfaces, and Responsible Governance

National digital identity systems (DIS) are increasingly positioned as key components of public digital infrastructure, shaped by policy objectives, governance arrangements, and technical standards. In many countries, current discussions tend to focus on regulation, security, privacy, and the protection of individual rights. However, how these concerns are translated into concrete system design and implementation remains less clearly articulated.

This talk presents an overview of my research on the design and implementation of national digital identity systems, focusing on three interrelated domains. First, it examines how governance frameworks and standardisation processes influence architectural choices in digital identity systems. Second, it explores how these choices are reflected in digital identity wallets, particularly through user interface design for selective disclosure and consent. Third, it considers how the complex negotiations among policymakers, technical experts, designers, and other stakeholders shape the social implementation and the inherent trade-offs of national digital identity systems.

By analysing digital identity systems through the combined lenses of standards, interfaces, and governance processes, the talk highlights how responsibility and user agency can be addressed through design decisions across multiple layers of implementation, from large-scale infrastructure to individual interactions.

Bio: Yoshiaki Fukami (PhD) is an Associate Professor at the Tokyo University of Science. His research explores the intersections of platform strategy, open collaborative innovation, digital governance, with a particular focus on the standardisation processes shaping emerging technologies. He has been actively involved in international standardisation activities, including at the W3C, and contributes to interdisciplinary discourse across policy, ethics, and information systems. His recent work investigates decentralised identity frameworks, digital transformation in healthcare, and the ethical challenges surrounding AI-enabled infrastructures.  

Regulation and Design Lab Visiting Speaker Talk, host Dr Lachlan Urquhart, for any further information email Lachlan.urquhart@ed.ac.uk

 

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