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

From: Adrian Gropper <agropper@healthurl.com>
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2023 22:48:52 -0500
Message-ID: <CANYRo8jtGAp_25uggXGmWMtnLC7PY1UnnbygtdV-MUQTbyFSXQ@mail.gmail.com>
To: Christopher Allen <ChristopherA@lifewithalacrity.com>
Cc: "Joosten, H.J.M. (Rieks)" <rieks.joosten@tno.nl>, "public-credentials (public-credentials@w3.org)" <public-credentials@w3.org>
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
>
Received on Wednesday, 1 March 2023 03:49:16 UTC

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