A comparison of Christopher Allen’s Principles of Identity and Kim Cameron’s Laws of Identity

Principles of Self-Sovereign Identity vs Laws of Identity.
Principles of SSI by Christopher Allen
Laws of Identity by the late Kim Cameron
Two approaches to digital identity, security, and privacy, 15 years apart.

https://dankioria.com/a-comparison-of-christopher-allens-principles-of-identity-and-kim-camerons-laws-of-identity/

In summary, "Principal Authority" and "The Laws of Identity"  significantly
differ in areas of focus. In “Principal Authority” Christopher Allen
primarily focuses on legal and legislative frameworks behind self-sovereign
identity. In “Laws of Identity” Kim Cameron focuses on setting the
groundwork for ensuring internet users can interact with a sense of trust,
privacy, and security.

The recommended solutions are not exactly similar, but they are all geared
toward achieving trustworthy, secure, and privacy-preserving digital
identity systems. That being said, both papers share several concerns,
recommendations, and principles.

In hindsight, these are two writers tackling the same problem at different
times and circumstances. The digital identity world has made significant
leaps since 2005. The late Kim Cameron foresaw most of the challenges that
Christopher Allen addresses in his paper. However, Cameron may not have
seen the depth of the challenges the same way Christopher Allen saw them 15
years later.

Both Principles of SSI and Laws of Identity are focused on protecting the
person identified. I feel that most digital identity meta-systems have not
adequately considered the needs of relying parties. Once the person
identified is protected, who protects the relying parties? Don’t you want
to be able to trust the claims and representations made by the other party
just as much as you want privacy and anonymity for yourself?

And aren’t we all relying parties?

Dan Kioria

Received on Wednesday, 22 March 2023 08:26:48 UTC