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Digital identity.. How does the government ensure that citizens’ privacy is not violated?

Amman Today

publish date 2021-08-19 10:21:56

Jordan News

The Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Ahmed Hanandeh, announced that discussions have been held recently to gradually digitize official documents, including driver’s licenses, identity cards, birth certificates, family books, health insurance cards, and Jordanian university certificates.

Al Hanandeh indicated that there was initial acceptance from the official authorities that issue such documents, but some challenges must be overcome so that citizens can place their digital documents within an electronic wallet.

He pointed to the possibility of amending legislation and regulations to apply to this digital transformation, adding that “the digital identity may be the real alternative to the civil status card, but in the short term there is no such plan, and the use of digital identity aims to digitally identify citizens in terms of digital services and signature.” digital and electronic.

And the ministry announced, last Tuesday, that the activation of the digital identity of citizens will begin in the coming days, stressing that citizens are required to attend in person for only one time to activate the service.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Jordan Open Source Association, Issa Al-Mahasneh, said in a press statement that the ministry’s digital transformation strategy proposes giving citizens digital identities so that they can access and benefit from all e-government services.

Mahasneh added, “The lack of a law to protect personal data is a problem we face in Jordan, therefore; There is no general legal framework to protect data collection and processing.”

He said, “This means that when citizens give their personal data to someone, in theory, there is no prohibition from sharing such data with a third party.”

Mahasneh added that the privacy of citizens’ personal data must be “respected” and taken into account when digitizing identities.

He continued, “It would be better if there was a law regulating the collection, processing and transfer of data… It must be ensured that the personal data of citizens is not violated.”

Mahasneh said that the idea of ​​a digital ID has become necessary because all countries with advanced e-government programs already have digital identities, making it easier for citizens to access all electronic services after logging in.

He pointed out that some people do not have smart phones, the Internet, or the digital knowledge needed to use technology, so there must be an alternative, non-electronic way to provide these groups with government services.

Al-Mahasneh called for taking into account that not all citizens have the same level of access to the Internet, and to facilitate these services and make them accessible to persons with disabilities.

However, some citizens expressed concerns about the digitization of official documents given that they are digitally illiterate or cannot access the Internet due to difficult economic conditions.

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Jordan News

Source : اخبار الاردن

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