Revisiting SSI at Ten -- Preliminary Revised Principles Open for Review

On April 26, 2016, I published The Path to Self-Sovereign Identity
<https://www.lifewithalacrity.com/article/the-path-to-self-soverereign-identity/>
and closed it with a request: *"I seek your assistance in taking these
principles to the next level."*

Ten years to the day, I am publishing a first community draft as a major
revision:


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P13Wy1plHWXIonErNXSG8R-n9L4fWTtUzglAcObNSXs/

A stable archival copy is mirrored:

    https://revisitingssi.com/library/ssi-principles-2026-redline/

The draft preserves the 2016 language verbatim wherever it survives, so the
continuity remains visible alongside revision. It organizes the principles
into four layers -- foundational, relational, technical, political -- and
adds six new principles:

  * Inalienability
  * Cognitive Liberty
  * Relational Autonomy
  * Stewardship
  * Equity
  * Anti-Coercive Design

The revisions grew out of five months of discussions at RevisitingSSI.com,
with contributions from Kim Hamilton Duffy (DIF), Vinay Vasanji (EF),
Georgy Ishmaev (Inria), Martina Kolpondinos, Ian Grigg, Philip Sheldrake,
Matthew Schutte, and many others.

I am publishing in redline form, on this anniversary, precisely because it
is unfinished. My hope is to iterate it with this community and others over
the coming months and present a more mature version at the Global Digital
Collaboration (GDC) event in Geneva this September.

*Four ways to participate*

1. Read and comment in the Google Doc. Every clause is open for inline
comment.

2. Find me next week (April 28-30) at the Internet Identity Workshop (IIW)
in Mountain View, CA. I will be there all three days and plan to propose at
least session -- more if there is interest.

3. Join me next week when I am a guest in the CCG call, May 5, 9:00-9:50
PDT / 12:00-12:50 EDT / 18:00-18:50 CEST (16:00 UTC).

    Event:
https://www.w3.org/events/meetings/6c106024-7f5f-4297-972b-18af6432aaef/20260505T120000/

4. Attend the dedicated Revisiting SSI community discussion on May 20 (10am
PDT / 7pm CEST). Meeting access is shared on the Signal group and the
announcements list:
https://www.blockchaincommons.com/dispatches/ssi-invite/#-join-us

The work between now and Geneva depends on this community pushing back on
what is imprecise, challenging what is wrong, and adding what is missing.

-- Christopher Allen

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