Re: Utah State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI) legislation

>  Phew, this was a massive list of paragraphs!

I felt the same, so I asked AI for a summary, hope this helps.

————————-

How it differs from other solutions, in plain terms:


   -

   It’s state-backed but wallet-based. The state issues/endorses a digital
   identity, but you hold it in a digital wallet and can choose a conforming
   wallet provider.
   -

   Cryptographic verification over database lookups. The bill repeatedly
   frames authenticity as something a verifier can check mathematically
   (signatures/credentials style), rather than “call a central service and
   ask.”
   -

   Selective disclosure is a design goal. You should be able to prove
   specific attributes (including “over X” age proofs) without handing over
   everything.
   -

   Anti-tracking is a legal constraint. It explicitly tries to prevent the
   state (and limits others) from using the system as a “who showed ID
   where/when” telemetry pipe.
   -

   It regulates the ecosystem, not just the credential. It imposes
   obligations on wallet providers, verifiers, relying parties, and even
   introduces a “duty of loyalty” style concept.


On unlinkability / skepticism:

The bill’s intent is basically: “Don’t turn ID checks into ubiquitous
behavioral tracking.” That doesn’t require magical perfect unlinkability in
the academic sense — it mostly requires (1) minimizing what gets disclosed,
and (2) not building a central logging chokepoint. The practical failure
mode isn’t cryptography; it’s incentives + convenience (“just log
everything, it’s useful”). The bill is trying to legislate against that
gravitational pull.


On taxation / registries:

Totally compatible. This bill isn’t trying to abolish registries (taxation
and civil administration need them). It’s trying to prevent the identity
presentation layer from becoming a universal cross-site tracking layer. The
state can still know who you are in contexts where the state must know
(tax, benefits, licensing), while aiming to reduce unnecessary disclosure
in everyday verification contexts.


“Research project” framing:

It’s more like a legislative spec for a privacy-conscious digital ID
ecosystem than a mature, battle-tested product description. The required
reports (starting 2027) and the audit (2028) are basically the law
admitting: we will need to measure, iterate, and verify whether this is
doing what it claims.

—————————-

Jori

Lazy young person




to 12.2.2026 klo 7.04 ap. Anders Rundgren <anders.rundgren.net@gmail.com>
kirjoitti:

> Phew, this was a massive list of paragraphs!
>
> Is there any documentation targeted at "mere mortals", explaining what it
> does and in particular how it differs from other solutions?
>
> Personally, I remain skeptical about ideas like "unlinkability" since they
> (AFAICT...) put high demands on people that currently have no major issues
> with the absolute opposite, like "Login with Google".
>
> Since the major source of revenue for governments are taxes, this (IMO)
> set the bar for what is achievable.  Taxation obviously requires a pretty
> extensive registry to function.
>
> At this stage. SEDI should be considered a research project.
>
> Anders
> Grumpy old fart
>
> On 2026-02-11 16:49, Manu Sporny wrote:
> > Hi CCG'ers (and bcc: VCWG),
> >
> > Just wanted to point out that the Utah State-Endorsed Digital Identity
> > (SEDI) legislation has been posted for review and it is /really,
> > really good/.
> >
> > https://le.utah.gov/~2026/bills/static/SB0275.html
> >
> > Kudos to a number of digital credentials ecosystem long-timers for
> > working with Utah legislators on this bill (Timothy Ruff, Sam Smith,
> > Steve McCown, some in the "No Phone Home community", and others that
> > I'm forgetting or not aware of).
> >
> > The most important thing about the legislation is that it upholds a
> > number of principles that have been at the core of the W3C
> > Decentralized Identifiers and Verifiable Credentials work. It's an
> > excellent read, and I hope other U.S. states take notice.
> >
> > -- manu
> >
>
>
>