- From: Amy van der Hiel <amy@w3.org>
- Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2022 08:09:01 -0400
- To: w3c-news@w3.org
- Cc: Amy van der Hiel <amy@w3.org>
Dear Friends of W3C,
Today World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announces that Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.0 is now an official Web standard. This new type of verifiable identifier, which does not require a centralized registry, will enable both individuals and organizations to take greater control of their online information and relationships while also providing greater security and privacy.
DIDs are a new tool to empower everyone on the web with privacy-respecting online identity and consent-based data sharing.
W3C Decentralized Identifiers can be controlled by the individuals or organizations that create them, are portable between service providers, and can last for as long as their controller wants to continue using them.
For individuals in particular, DIDs can put them back in control of their personal data and consent, and also enable more respectful bi-directional trust relationships where forgery is prevented, privacy is honored, and usability is enhanced.
To learn more read our press release below as text or online at: https://www.w3.org/2022/07/pressrelease-did-rec.html.en
Yours sincerely,
Amy van der Hiel
W3C Media Relations Coordinator
-------------------------------
[1]W3C Under embargo until 2022-07-19
[1]
https://www.w3.org/
Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) v1.0 becomes a W3C Recommendation
A new tool to empower everyone on the web with privacy-respecting online
identity and consent-based data sharing
__________________________________________________________
Read [2]testimonials from W3C Members and the industry
[3]Translations | [4]W3C Press Release Archive
__________________________________________________________
[3]
https://www.w3.org/Press/Releases-2022#did-rec
[4]
https://www.w3.org/Press/
[5]
https://www.w3.org/
— 19 July 2022 — The World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) has announced that Decentralized Identifiers
(DIDs) v1.0 is now an official Web standard. This new type of
verifiable identifier, which does not require a centralized
registry, will enable both individuals and organizations to
take greater control of their online information and
relationships while also providing greater security and
privacy.
[5]
https://www.w3.org/
There is a historical analog to this announcement in the
evolution of mobile phone numbers. Originally these were owned
by the mobile carrier and "rented" to the individual. This
required individuals to change numbers if they changed
carriers. With the adoption of mobile phone number portability,
individuals could now "take their numbers with them" when
switching carriers.
The same is true of most email addresses and social network
addresses today—they are not “owned” by individuals and must be
changed if the individual changes providers. By contrast, W3C
Decentralized Identifiers can be controlled by the individuals
or organizations that create them, are portable between service
providers, and can last for as long as their controller wants
to continue using them.
Whatsmore, DIDs have the unique property of enabling the
controller to verify ownership of the DID using cryptography.
This can enable any controller of a DID—an individual, an
organization, an online community, a government, an IoT
device—to engage in more trustworthy transactions online. For
individuals in particular, DIDs can put them back in control of
their personal data and consent, and also enable more
respectful bi-directional trust relationships where forgery is
prevented, privacy is honored, and usability is enhanced.
Fundamentally, Decentralized Identifiers are a new type of
globally unambiguous identifier that can be used to identify
any subject (e.g., a person, an organization, a device, a
product, a location, even an abstract entity or a concept).
Each DID resolves to a DID document that contains the
cryptographic material and other metadata for controlling the
DID. The foundational pillars of the DID specification are: 1)
DIDs do not require a central issuing agency (decentralized),
2) DIDs do not require the continued operation of an underlying
organization (persistent), 3) Control of DIDs, and the
information they are associated with, can be proven
cryptographically (verifiable), and 4) DID metadata can be
discovered (resolvable).
Markets adopting DIDs
W3C Decentralized Identifiers, coupled with W3C Verifiable
Credentials, are being used across a number of markets where
identification and data authenticity is a concern:
* Governments – The US, Canada, and the EU, are exploring the
use of DIDs to provide privacy-protecting digital identity
documentation for their businesses and residents, which
enable those entities to choose how and when their data is
shared.
* Retailers – convenience stores, grocery stores,
restaurants, bars, and consumer goods companies in the US
are utilizing DIDs for new digital age verification
programs to increase privacy, checkout speed, and combat
the use of fraudulent identity documents when purchasing
age-gated products.
* Supply chain stakeholders — global government regulators,
trade standards institutions, vendors, shippers, and
retailers—are using DIDs to explore next generation systems
that more accurately verify the origin and destination of
products and services, which will streamline and enable the
reporting designed to apply correct tariffs, prevent
dumping, and monitor transshipment.
* Workforce – universities, job training programs, and
education standards organizations are adopting DIDs in
order to issue digital learning credentials that are
controlled and shared by the graduate when applying for
higher education or workforce positions.
The Work Continues at W3C
W3C, composed of over 450 organizations, has made the
investment in W3C Decentralized Identifiers and W3C Verifiable
Credentials to ensure a more decentralized, privacy-respecting,
and consent-based data sharing ecosystem. Official standards
work will continue on these technologies through the newly
re-chartered W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0 Working Group,
which will focus on expanding functionality based on market
feedback. Further incubation on future privacy-respecting
technologies will occur through the W3C Credentials Community
Group, which is open to participation by the general public.
About the World Wide Web Consortium
The mission of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is to lead
the Web to its full potential by creating technical standards
and guidelines to ensure that the Web remains open, accessible,
and interoperable for everyone around the globe. W3C well-known
standards HTML and CSS are the foundational technologies upon
which websites are built. W3C works on ensuring that all
foundational Web technologies meet the needs of civil society,
in areas such as accessibility, internationalization, security,
and privacy. W3C also provides the standards that undergird the
infrastructure for modern businesses leveraging the Web, in
areas such as entertainment, communications, digital
publishing, and financial services. That work is created in the
open, provided for free and under the groundbreaking W3C Patent
Policy.
W3C's vision for "One Web" brings together thousands of
dedicated technologists representing more than 400 [6]Member
organizations and dozens of industry sectors. W3C is jointly
hosted by the [7]MIT Computer Science and Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the United States, the
[8]European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics
(ERCIM) headquartered in France, [9]Keio University in Japan
and [10]Beihang University in China. For more information see
[11]
https://www.w3.org/.
[6]
https://www.w3.org/Consortium/Member/List
[7]
https://www.csail.mit.edu/
[8]
https://www.ercim.eu/
[9]
https://www.keio.ac.jp/
[10]
https://ev.buaa.edu.cn/
[11]
https://www.w3.org/
End Press Release
Media Contact
Amy van der Hiel, W3C Media Relations Coordinator
<[12]w3t-pr@w3.org>
mailto:w3t-pr@w3.org
+1.617.253.5628 (US, Eastern Time)
__________________________________________________________
Testimonials from W3C members
[13]Avast • [14]Block Inc. • [15]China Academy of Information
and Communications Technology (CAICT) • [16]Conexxus •
[17]ConsenSys • [18]Danube Tech • [19]Digital Bazaar •
[20]Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
(ETRI) • [21]Fundacion CTIC Centro Tecnológico • [22]GS1 •
[23]Identity.com • [24]Intel Corporation • [25]Jolocom GmbH •
[26]Mavennet Systems Inc. • [27]MIT Open Learning •
[28]Mesur.io • [29]Ology Newswire, Inc. • [30]Spruce Systems,
Inc. • [31]Transmute • [32]51Degrees
[33]Avast
[33]
https://www.avast.com/
"Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are critical to ensuring a
safer Web and the type of empowered consumer experiences
we’re enabling at Avast. We are incredibly proud of our
colleagues who have contributed so much to making this
specification a reality, notably Drummond Reed (who served
as a co-author and co-editor) and Brent Zundel (who
co-chaired the W3C’s DID Working Group)."
Charles Walton, SVP & GM Digital Trust Services Business,
Avast Software s.r.o.
[34]Block, Inc.
[34]
https://block.xyz/
"At Block, we are excited to leverage the Decentralized
Identifiers (DIDs) specification to help build a
standards-based decentralized identity layer for the Web. We
believe DIDs, and associated technologies being developed in
the Decentralized Identity community, will be critical in
bringing about an evolution of the Web platform that equips
individuals to own and control their identifiers, personal
data, and every facet of their digital interactions. Block
is actively developing open source packages, products, and
services that incorporate DIDs in many areas to create new
value and experiences for individuals and business
customers."
Daniel Buchner, Head of Decentralized Identity, Block, Inc.
[35]China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT)
[35]
http://www.caict.ac.cn/english/
"We are excited to witness this historical moment on the
Decentralized Identifiers specification. We believe that the
self-sovereign identity, or the decentralized digital
identity is the future of the Web, and it will induce
tremendous impacts not only on the way people behave on the
Internet, but also on the digital economy development
worldwide. In China, CAICT and our partners have been
putting great effort in creating this decentralized identity
ecological community for many years. We have launched the
DID-oriented Blockchain infrastructure called Xinghuo BIF
since 2020, and we will publish the Chinese version
self-sovereign identity-decentralized digital identity and
verifiable credentials book this year so that people from
all industries can realize the potential power of the new
technology. We wish to build more partnerships with
communities from all over the world, and we are happy to
share our story with the world. The new generation of the
web is coming."
Jian Jin, General Director of Institute for Industry and
Internet of Things, CAICT
[36]Conexxus
[36]
http://www.conexxus.org/
"W3C Decentralized identifiers represent a huge step forward
in being able to create privacy preserving systems. Coupled
with W3C Verifiable Credentials, Decentralized Identifiers
have enabled design and standardization of an Age
Verification system that meets regulatory requirements while
protecting private information. Creating systems that can do
both things has formerly been a challenging task, made
easier with Decentralized Identifiers and Verifiable
Credentials. Conexxus is a long term W3C member, and is the
standards body for the convenience retail sector
representing 152,000 retail outlets. W3C Decentralized
Identifiers have helped create an important privacy
preserving standard for the [37]TruAge program."
Gray Taylor, Executive Director, Conexxus
[38]ConsenSys
[38]
https://consensys.net/
"ConsenSys are pleased that W3C has endorsed the DID 1.0
specification as a W3C Recommendation. This is an important
step toward empowering individuals to control their own
identity and how it is used.
The DID framework enables an interoperable approach to
identity that can be based on different platforms, providing
cross-network interoperability. We value this approach, and
the ability of W3C to produce such standards to underpin the
highly hetergeneous web of today, and of the future.
At ConsenSys we have been working half a decade with this
approach in the Ethereum technology stack. This can provide
an ideal basis for the implementation of secure and scalable
DID methods, that frees the world from relying only on very
large scale providers to manage people's identity.
We look forward to this work, along with Verifiable
Credentials and other connected standards, forming an
underpinning for the new future we are building where
decentralised identity management and reputation systems
give people more control of their online identity."
Charles "chaals" Nevile, Lead Standards Architect, ConsenSys
[39]Danube Tech
[39]
https://danubetech.com/
"Like many other companies, we welcome the decision to
advance DID Core 1.0 to W3C Recommendation. For Danube Tech,
DIDs are more than just a technical building block and a
prerequisite for other functionality such as Verifiable
Credentials or DID-based authentication. For us, DIDs are a
symbol of empowerment and independence. They lie at the
heart of a vision that relates physical to digital
identities, in a way where human rights and democratic
principles are "built-into" the technical architectures. We
believe DIDs are a foundation for a better Web, and we look
forward to contributing to their success with our DID-based
products and customer projects around the world."
Markus Sabadello, CEO, Danube Tech
[40]Digital Bazaar
[40]
https://www.digitalbazaar.com/
"Our work with various governments, education institutions,
banks, supply chain, and the retail sector utilize W3C
Decentralized Identifiers and W3C Verifiable Credentials to
build next generation privacy-enhancing digital credential
issuance, verification, and encrypted storage services. All
of our products support W3C Verifiable Credentials and W3C
Decentralized Identifiers and help reassure our customers
that they are investing in a broad, competitive ecosystem of
software vendors that all support these interoperable Web
standards.
From an individual's perspective, DIDs enable a simpler,
safer way to store, share, update, and verify personal data
using privacy-respecting identifiers under their personal
control. From an enterprise perspective, decentralized
technology has the potential to reverse the trends of data
breaches and data theft. Companies will no longer need to
spend a fortune in the expensive collection–and
protection–of data that can quickly become out-of-date,
incomplete, or inaccurate. Furthermore, organizations can
know with greater certainty that they are interacting with
an individual that has the right to use the data they are
sharing rather than receiving it from a thief or illicit
data broker.
We applaud the newest global standard at the World Wide Web
Consortium and look forward to new work at W3C that will
enhance and further standardize consent-based data sharing
standards that respect individual right to privacy."
Manu Sporny, CEO, Digital Bazaar
[41]Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)
[41]
http://www.etri.re.kr/
"ETRI, a government-affiliated research institute in South
Korea, leads the development of artificial intelligence (AI)
and emerging ICTs. We are delighted that W3C has approved
the Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) as W3C Recommendation.
The W3C Recommendation for DIDs will serve as an excellent
foundation for the digital transformation and the metaverse
era, where every company globally strives to understand and
reach. Furthermore, recognizing the importance of DIDs, the
South Korean government and companies are cooperating to
gradually apply DIDs to government-led public services, such
as COVID-19 vaccination certificates and mobile driver's
licenses. Therefore, ETRI is confident that the approval of
the W3C Recommendation for DIDs will contribute
significantly to establishing a safe and convenient
DIDs-based digital ecosystem."
Seungyun Lee, Director of Open Source Center, ETRI
[42]Fundacion CTIC Centro Tecnológico
[42]
http://www.fundacionctic.org/
"At CTIC we believe that DIDs are an important building
block towards a truly decentralised web. We will therefore
help companies and public administrations to apply DIDs in
ways that go beyond replicating known centralised identity
management schemes."
Pablo Coca, Director for business development and operation,
CTIC Centro Tecnológico
[43]GS1
[43]
http://www.gs1.org/
"GS1 believes that DIDs, and the closely related
technologies around Verifiable Credentials, are likely to
make a very substantial difference to the level of trust in
the data that underpins supply chains. We therefore welcome
the transition of the DID-Core to Recommendation status. We
are working on a number of initiatives involving national
accreditation agencies, governments and industry partners
around the world and GS1 will continue to be an active
member of the community developing and testing these
standards at W3C."
Phil Archer, Web Solutions Director, GS1 Global Office
[44]Identity.com
[44]
https://www.identity.org/
"Identity.com fully supports the advancement of DID Core 1.0
to W3C recommendation as an official web standard.
Identity.com is an open-source identity verification
platform offering developers a native identity layer based
on the blockchain. For us, decentralized identifiers are the
fundamental technology underpinning decentralized digital
identities, providing the security and standards for the
future of the Internet and Web3. We believe end-users should
have full ownership over their identities. This standard is
a positive development for the industry."
Phillip Shoemaker, CEO, Identity.com
[45]Jolocom GmbH
[45]
https://jolocom.io/
"The DID-core spec becoming an official W3C recommendation
is a major and long overdue milestone for the decentralized
community. At Jolocom we are currently piloting a DID-based
Self-sovereign Identity Wallet in a multitude of use cases
and with over two dozen partners. Questions of
standardization and interoperability have always been at the
core of our work in these projects. It is therefore
especially gratifying and exciting to witness this step
towards community cohesion. We also take it as a major
motivation to continue our efforts on interoperability, to
keep implementing DIDs and to further contribute to W3C
efforts."
Joachim Lohkamp, CEO, Jolocom GmbH
[46]Intel Corporation
[46]
http://www.intel.com/
"Intel Corporation congratulates the DID Working Group on
Decentralized Identifier (DID) 1.0 reaching W3C
Recommendation status.
DID provides a framework to unify and consolidate multiple
evolving identity systems. Consolidating identity systems
within a single framework is useful for validating the
authenticity of information and preserving its integrity as
it is moved and processed among cloud, edge, and client
systems. This potentially increases the capabilities of the
Web to connect and unify multiple sources of information.
The continuing evolution of this work will be key to the
development of new technologies in the fields of supply
chain management and Internet of Things (IoT) devices and
services. For example, a Birds of a Feather (BOF) discussion
group at IETF [47]Supply Chain Integrity, Transparency, and
Trust (SCITT) has already highlighted DID as a useful
approach in providing much needed structure for exchanging
information through the supply chain, and the Web of Things
(WoT) WG is planning to support DID for identifying and
discovering IoT devices and metadata.
Intel Corporation supports this work and encourages the DID
Working Group to continue working towards the convergence of
widely implemented and adopted standardized best practices
for identity in its next charter."
[47]
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/bofreq-birkholz-supply-chain-integrity-transparency-and-trust-scitt/
Eric Siow, Web Standards and Ecosystem Strategies Director,
Intel Corporation
[48]Mavennet Systems Inc.
[48]
https://www.mavennet.com/
"Mavennet is a firm believer in the power of Decentralized
Identifiers. We believe DIDs, and associated technologies
are a fundamental cornerstone to building a more
transparent, trusted and resilient web enabling commercial
applications that were not possible before. Mavennet is
actively building a number of products utilizing DIDs to
augment trust, security and automation in the supply chain."
Mahmoud Alkhraishi, Director of Engineering, Mavennet Systems
Inc.
[49]Mesur.io
[49]
https://mesur.io/
"Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) alongside W3C Verifiable
Credentials (VCs) are enabling our customers to have
confidence in the data that they capture and share in
pursuit of ESG goals and regulatory requirements. These two
standards provide a path to interoperability where the user
is in control of their own data in a privacy preserving
manner, which is critical for us in solving global problems
such as biodefense, food and water security, and in
combating forced and child labor."
Michael Prorock, CTO, mesur.io
[50]MIT Open Learning
[50]
https://openlearning.mit.edu/
"The members of the [51]Digital Credentials Consortium
(DCC)—comprising 12 international universities—are working
together to develop new digital systems for academic
credentials. The DCC approach focuses on open standards,
open processes, and developing open source software to
ensure learner agency in the use of their digital
credentials. One of the key components of these approaches
is using the W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)
specification so that learners and issuers can securely
associate themselves with their credentials. The DCC has
chosen to implement DIDs along with W3C Verifiable
Credentials to enable an interoperable, verifiable, and more
trustworthy exchange of digital academic credentials."
[51]
http://dcconsortium.org/)
Brandon Muramatsu, Associate Director, Projects, MIT Open
Learning
[52]Ology Newswire, Inc.
[52]
https://ont.io/
"Decentralized Identifiers are an important tool to level
the playing field. With DIDs, individuals and small teams
enjoy the same level of cryptographic verification of
identity, claims, and content that is available to the
largest and most powerful governments and corporations.
At Ology Newswire, DIDs enable digital publishers to
contribute content to the public square with cryptographic
provenance to enhance censorship resistance. A free
WordPress plugin serves DIDs for each author on a WordPress
site giving the publisher direct control over verification.
The DID standard is flexible enough to empower not just
major corporations and governments, but also individual
people and small groups with something important to say or a
small enterprise to build. The wide range of applicability
embodies the heart and soul of open internet standards."
Christian Gribneau, CEO, Ology Newswire, Inc.
[53]Spruce Systems, Inc.
[53]
https://spruceid.com/
"Spruce’s mission is to let users control their data across
the web, and we strongly believe that the W3C Decentralized
Identifiers are critical to achieving that. DIDs increase
user choice, manage complexity across trust models, and when
used with adjacent specifications such as Verifiable
Credentials, can form the identity layer for a user-centric
Internet. We strongly support DID-Core’s transition to a
Recommendation, and will continue our contributions to the
community."
Wayne Chang, Co-Founder and CEO, Spruce Systems, Inc.
[54]Transmute
[54]
https://www.transmute.industries/
"Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) enable identity holders to
assert control and reputation outside of centralized
authorities, which is an unprecedented win for individual
and organizational autonomy across the globe.
Transmute helps companies and governments operate more
efficiently across contexts without compromising
competitiveness by providing provable and secure ways of
exchanging critical trade data. DIDs implemented with
Verifiable Credentials (VCs) are the core technologies
Transmute relies on to secure data at scale. The tremendous
community effort to standardize DIDs with W3C makes this
work possible and enables wide adoption of this important
technology."
Karyl Fowler, CEO and Co-Founder, Transmute
[55]51Degrees
[55]
https://51degrees.com/
"DID 1.0 is a fantastic demonstration of much needed
decentralized innovation."
James Rosewell - CEO 51Degrees
Testimonials from the industry
[56]Blockchain Commons • [57]European Commission •
[58]Decentralized Identity Foundation • [59]Diwala • [60]Dock
Labs AG • [61]GATACA • [62]Gimly • [63]Identity Woman in
Business • [64]iGrant.io • [65]The National Association of
Convenience Stores • [66]Open Credentialing Initiative •
[67]Patient Privacy Rights Foundation • [68]Pinnacle
Corporation • [69]Spherity • [70]Trinsic • [71]TruAge •
[72]Trust Over IP (ToIP) Foundation • [73]United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) • [74]U.S. Customs and
Border Protection • [75]U.S. Department of Homeland Security
(DHS)
Blockchain Commons
"DIDs are at the core of our next generation of digital
identity on the internet. I'm thrilled at their recognition
as an international standard. However, they are just the
first step. In order to ensure a compassionate digital
infrastructure that protects digital human rights, we need
to design DID-centric architectures that fulfill their
decentralized possibilities and minimize the identities and
credentials that we share. We've laid a great foundation
with the DID 1.0 spec; now we need to build on it."
Christopher Allen, IETF TLS 1.0 co-editor, W3C DID spec
co-author, and Principal Architect at Blockchain Commons.
European Commission
"The European Commission’s European Blockchain Services
Infrastructure (EBSI) team warmly welcomes the vote by the
W3C to promote the W3C DID Core 1.0 specification to
"Recommendation" status.
The European Commission strives to ensure that European
values are at the heart of our digital transition. This
notably includes ensuring trusted digital identities for all
EU citizens and residents and the creation of a secure and
interoperable European Digital Identity, in which digital
identity and identification are in the citizens’ control.
Decentralised identifiers (DIDs) are a type of identifier
that enables verifiable, decentralised digital identity.
DIDs therefore contribute to creating a decentralised
identity ecosystem and to build the supporting services and
capabilities that will allow citizens to create, control,
and use their own digital identity.
The Commission’s EBSI team looks forward to adopting the W3C
DID Core 1.0 specification in the EBSI framework as a full
W3C standard."
Robert Czarny, Blockchain / DLT Business Manager,
Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT), European
Commission
Decentralized Identity Foundation
"We believe DIDs will change the course of digital identity,
building in portability and interoperability at the lowest
possible level. DIDs are a foundation for creating a new
class of products, services, and experiences that advance
our digital lives, and we look forward to leveraging DIDs
and other technologies developed in the community to
champion a new class of user-first, self-owned digital
identity systems.
DIDs are an important technical foundation for the products
(such as the Universal Resolver, the Sidetree protocol, and
DIDCommv2) and activities of virtually all of our members,
many of whom actively contributed to the specification."
Rouven Heck, Executive Director, Decentralized Identity
Foundation
Diwala
"Diwala is working in parts of the world where digital
interconnectedness has some way to go. We see W3C
Decentralized Identifiers as critical to build a better
digital world for these countries. We see that DIDs is the
foundation to achieve an evolution of the Web platform, and
leapfrog countries who have yet to reach the same digital
resources as the digital leading countries of this world.
DIDs will help people of the web have better control of
complexity. Combining this with adjacent specifications such
as Verifiable Credentials will greatly increase innovation
speed, innovation opportunities and data control. We support
the move of DID-Core to a Recommendation, and look forward
to continuing to build on it."
Snorre Lothar von Gohren Edwin, CTO, Diwala
Dock Labs AG
"Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) represent a much needed,
privacy preserving innovation that enables individuals and
organizations to create, own and control their online
identities. This technology is a core part of the identity
and credentialing solutions offered by Dock, and the W3C
recommendation of the DID-Core specification is a welcome
milestone that ensures that we continue to develop our
technology with interoperability in mind."
Nick Lambert, CEO, Dock Labs AG
GATACA
"For the past 3 years GATACA has had its own DID method
enabling us to implement successful use cases across Europe.
We’re grateful to have had the support of projects like
eSSIF-Lab to advance our DID technology, and look forward to
continuing using these core W3C SSI mechanisms & standards
to advance its adoption. Our mission to bring real-life
trust to the internet in the simplest way through one
single, global digital ID is guaranteed by standardised,
globally recognised decentralised identifiers and verifiable
credentials."
Samuel Gómez Escalante, Founder & CTO, GATACA
Gimly
"With self-sovereign identity - DIDs and VCs - we finally
are able to add the identity and authentication layer that
had been missing since the inception of the internet. At
Gimly we are bridging the digital and physical worlds,
leveraging SSI in combination with NFC capabilities of
smartcards and mobile devices to bring trust and
transparency back into our digital as well as physical
interactions. This work has been partly funded through the
Horizon 2020 Essif-lab program."
Caspar Roelofs, Founder, Gimly Projects and Partnerships
Identity Woman in Business
"I still remember that first whiteboard session for what
would become Decentralized Identifiers (DID) v1.0 that I
helped facilitate following the ID2020 conference in 2016.
Since then, as a community steward and contributor, I have
had the pleasure to watch the DID specification progress
through workshoping at the Internet Identity Workshop and
pre-standardization in the Credentials Community Group
before spec work graduated into an official W3C working
group - which I participated in as well. It is a big
milestone for the community and towards the infrastructure
we need to support individuals really owning and controlling
the digital representations of themselves. In my new role as
a Principal of a Decentralized Identity consulting firm, I
look forward to helping organizations understand and
implement this standard."
Kaliya Young, Identity Woman, Founder and Principal at
Identity Woman in Business, W3C Invited Expert, co-founder of
the Internet Identity Workshop
iGrant.io
"Decentralised Identifiers open a new world for individuals
to share personal data (credentials) while protecting their
privacy. One fundamental aspect of any data exchange is
auditability and regulatory compliance. Through our work
with NGI-Trust eSSIF-Lab, MyData and similar organisations,
iGrant.io has contributed to defining and standardising data
exchange agreements (did:mydata) that make every personal
data transaction immutable, trustworthy and auditable. This
will create new opportunities with seamless data sharing
across public and private entities governed by new data
regulations."
iGrant.io
The National Association of Convenience Stores
"In the Convenience Retail channel, age restricted items
represent roughly 50 million transactions a day! Restricted
items traditionally have been limited within a single
transaction, with the age checked using a driver’s license.
Regulatory scrutiny now extends to industry-wide sales of
items to individuals no matter where they purchase them, and
verifying age for the sale of those items using a driver's
license presents a big privacy threat. Addressing this
issue, NACS has created the TruAge program using W3C
Decentralized Identifiers and Verifiable Credentials.
Working with our partner Conexxus, NACS has been able to
provide a system using open standards that gives a clear “on
ramp” for additional participants in the ecosystem. TruAge
supports both in-store and on-line transactions, providing
safe and responsible sales of age restricted goods while
preserving consumer privacy.
NACS advances the role of convenience stores as positive
economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the
communities they serve. The U.S. convenience store industry,
with more than 152,000 stores nationwide selling fuel, food
and merchandise, serves 165 million customers daily—half of
the U.S. population—and has sales that are 11% of total U.S.
retail and foodservice sales. NACS has 1,900 retailers and
1,800 supplier members from more than 50 countries."
Brian E. Kimmel, Executive Vice President, COO and CFO, The
National Association of Convenience Stores
Open Credentialing Initiative
"The members of the Open Credentialing Initiative (OCI) were
thrilled to learn about the approval of W3C Decentralized
Identifiers (DIDs) 1.0 as a W3C Recommendation. OCI's
architecture heavily relies on this work by W3C to create
solutions using DIDs and Verifiable Credentials that solve
current challenges in the pharmaceutical supply chain. We
see tremendous potential in leveraging this technology for
further use cases and look forward to exploring the
possibilities."
Bob Celeste, Facilitation, Open Credentialing Initiative
Patient Privacy Rights Foundation
"Standardized DIDs are an essential first step toward
empowering individuals to engage peers, institutions and
service providers without having to trade platform
surveillance for convenience. A standardized digital
identifier empowers the individual by reducing their
switching costs among service providers and platform
intermediaries. The power of individual choice and
self-determination will not be realized, however, unless the
protocols that incorporate identity enable delegation in
order to manage the burden of choice and the anxiety of
self-determination."
Adrian Gropper, CTO, Patient Privacy Rights Foundation
Pinnacle Corporation
"W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and W3C Verifiable
Credentials (VCs) enabled Pinnacle to be a leader in
introducing privacy-preserving digital age verification in
convenience retail. By integrating this advanced technology,
NACS TruAge gives our web-based Affiniti POS state of the
art industry standard-based capabilities to sell restricted
goods in the markets we serve.
Standards make investing in technology development safe, and
quality standards make it easy. Having the technology based
on a worldwide standard lends immediate credibility and
bears out the inherent privacy and security promised by DIDs
and VCs."
Peter Steele, Vice President of Research, Pinnacle
Corporation
Spherity
"Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are a verifiable and
interoperable cryptographic method of identifying users and
things. With DIDs and adjacent specifications such as
Verifiable Credentials, a user-centric Internet can form an
identity layer that increases user choice, establishes
trust, and creates a seamless user experience.
Spherity’s DID-powered solutions provide verifiable,
compliance solutions for enterprise and object identity. The
W3C DID spec is wired into the core of our identity SaaS
solution for enterprise identity wallets, intelligent serial
numbers, and process compliance, which integrates with
existing ERP and tracking systems via easy-to-use APIs."
Trinsic
"The Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) specification is at
the core of our efforts to solve the governance problem in
the decentralized world. At Trinsic, we believe in the power
of everyone to control their identity. We also believe that
ecosystems should have the ability to express their
solutions using a trust model that is secure, scalable, and
interoperable. The W3C recommendation of the DIDs data model
is a milestone that completes the required infrastructure to
make this vision possible. We're honored to partner with
eSSIF-Lab to develop an open source solution for Trust
Registries as a solution to governance based on DIDs."
Tomislav Markovski, Cofounder and CTO at Trinsic
TruAge
"TruAge utilizes W3C Decentralized Identifiers and W3C
Verifiable Credentials for its nation-wide digital age
verification system in the United States. We are pleased to
see the advancement of these global W3C standards, which
enabled the National Association of Convenience Stores and
its 1,900 retailer and 1,800 supplier members in more than
50 countries to build a next generation privacy-respecting
digital age verification system. TruAge, which is based on
W3C and Conexxus standards, are currently being integrated
into point of sale systems that perform more than 50 million
age verifications per day."
Kyle McKeen, CEO, TruAge
Trust Over IP (ToIP) Foundation
"Decentralized identifiers are one of the key building
blocks of the decentralized digital trust infrastructure for
which the Trust Over IP (ToIP) Foundation is defining a
complete architecture. DIDs will put the power of
cryptography directly into the digital wallets of every
person and organization using the Internet, enabling
personal information to be protected, privacy to be
preserved, and trust to be established at a scale that has
never been possible before."
John Jordan, Executive Director, Trust Over IP (ToIP)
Foundation
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
"Digitalisation is a key enabler of the UN’s sustainable
development goals (SDGs). The decentralised architecture of
the W3C’s DID and VC standards offer important opportunities
to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. Improved access to
finance for micro business in developing countries,
transparency of sustainable supply chains, reduced
environmental impacts, and reductions in counterfeit goods
are all good use cases for the application of VC/DID based
solutions. The UNECE explores important factors for
establishing trust in the next-generation digital world and
promotes the vision of a more open, free and secure digital
future for all."
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) -
United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic
Business (UN/CEFACT)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
"US Customs and Border Protection is actively pursuing
interoperability standards based on W3C Decentralized
Identifiers (DIDs) and W3C Verifiable Credentials (VCs) as
next generation supply chain enhancements for 2023 and 2024.
The standards developed by W3C will have a profound effect
on the future of supply chain modernization by driving down
development costs for both public and private sectors,
allowing technology choice, as well as maintaining a safe
and open environment for the international community."
Vincent Annunziato, Director of Business Transformation &
Innovation Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and
Technology Directorate (S&T) works to protect privacy and
reduce vendor lock-in by ensuring open standards and
demonstrable interoperability testing. "As the US government
agency that initially funded the work leading up to the
Decentralized Identifiers specification, we are pleased to
see its ratification as a global standard,” said Anil John,
Technical Director of S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation
Program. “We have and continue to contractually obligate our
vendors to adhere to open global standards, including W3C
Verifiable Credentials and W3C Decentralized Identifiers, as
part of our ‘Preventing Forgery & Counterfeiting of
Certificates and Licenses’ workstream, and participate in
open standards processes in order to ensure transparency,
protect privacy, and increase global equity in technology
outcomes that affect not only those in the US, but abroad as
well."
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and
Technology Directorate (S&T)
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[76]Translations | [77]W3C Press Release Archive
[76]
https://www.w3.org/Press/Releases-2022#did-rec
[77]
https://www.w3.org/Press/
Received on Tuesday, 19 July 2022 12:09:08 UTC