Re: Self-Sovereign Identity and Guardianship in Practice - Exploring the gap between legal and technical perspectives

Christopher,

Does this Laws of Agency perspective inform how protocols for VC issue and
presentation should be designed when the subject of the VC is a human?

- Adrian

On Tue, Feb 28, 2023 at 9:20 PM Christopher Allen <
ChristopherA@lifewithalacrity.com> wrote:

> Guardianship is closely related to Agency Law, for which there is a start
> of a legal basis for under Wyoming law.
>
> I have an article on this topic that reframes my 10 Self-Sovereign
> Identity principles under Agency Law, and adds 5 duties & responsibilities:
>
> https://www.blockchaincommons.com/articles/Principal-Authority/
>
> ABSTRACT:
>
>
> “For Self-Sovereign Identity (aka #SSI) to truly achieve international
> success, it needs to not just be embraced by the technological sector, but
> also to have a basis under law. Wyoming now offers the first definition of
> personal digital identity in the United States as “the intangible digital
> representation of, by and for a natural person, over which he has principal
> authority and through which he intentionally communicates or acts.
>
> By saying that a Principal has the ultimate authority to control their
> digital identity, then that Principal may then delegate their authority
> under existing fiduciary Laws of Agency and Custom. Wyoming’s digital
> identity law is the first example of legislation that focuses on using
> these laws in this way, rather than under Property Law.
>
> Principal Authority focuses not just on a single person’s authority to act
> digitally, but also on their ability to delegate to and require duties from
> other entities. In other words, these peer-to-peer relationships works
> within the context of a state who recognizes the concept of Principal
> Authority. Thus the use of Principal Authority to empower Self-Sovereign
> Identity provides a legal foothold for many of the original 10 #SSI
> principles. It also suggests five additional duties that are generally
> defined under the Laws of Agency to be due from agents to Principals.
>
> Wyoming’s definition of personal digital identity helps us to lay more
> foundation for self-sovereign identity, but it’s still just a starting
> point. There may be other legal elements that can support this new
> definition of personal digital identity. These possibilities need to be
> studied. The Digital Identity subcommittee in Wyoming will continue to work
> with the state legislature, and welcomes discussions with other states and
> nations.”
>
>
> KEY EXCERPT:
>
> *The Duties of Self-Sovereign Agents*Permalink
> <https://www.blockchaincommons.com/articles/Principal-Authority/#the-duties-of-self-sovereign-agents>
>
> *The idea of Principal Authority itself suggests additional duties that
> were not included on the original list of principles of self-sovereign
> identity, but which are generally defined in the Laws of Agency to be due
> from agents to Principals.*
>
>
>    1. *Specificity.* An Agent will use Principal Authority to serve
>       specific tasks as instructed by the Principal, or as required by Custom,
>       and do nothing more with an identity.
>       2. *Responsibility.* An agent will serve those tasks with
>       reasonable care and skill, with due diligence, and without further
>       delegation.
>       3. *Representation.* An agent will act in the best interests of the
>       Principal, without secret profit, and will not take on other
>       responsibilities that might conflict with that.
>       4. *Fidelity.* An agent will serve those tasks in good faith.
>       5. *Disclosure.* An agent will maintain accounts and report their
>       actions back to the Principal.
>
> *Agent duties say that agents will be trustworthy in their use of your
> identity. These duties are more likely to implicitly be a part of any
> legislation that was built atop the Laws of Agency.*
>
> -- Christopher Allen
>