The recently passed Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2024 includes a significant mandate for mobile ID support, a provision highlighted by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).
The legislation requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to accept digital or mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) or identification cards issued by states whenever an individual must present government-issued identification, a move that is expected to facilitate the widespread adoption of mobile IDs across the United States.
The bill’s recent passage had mainly drawn attention for what it did not include: an amendment proposed by Senators Jeff Merkley, John Kennedy, and Roger Marshall to halt the deployment of facial recognition technology at U.S. airports, which raised privacy and civil liberties concerns. Despite these concerns, the amendment was opposed by various officials and organizations, including the U.S. Travel Association, and the Act was passed by an overwhelming 88-4 vote.
While the facial recognition issue was a notable distraction, the bill’s support for mobile ID’s is likely to get some considerable attention going forward.
The inclusion of mobile ID support in the FAA Reauthorization Act aligns with AAMVA’s recent launch of its mDL Digital Trust Service (DTS), a service that aims to establish a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) framework for digital IDs in the U.S., ensuring their legitimacy and security. The DTS distributes a trusted list of public keys to issuing authorities and verifiers, supporting the secure implementation and verification of mobile driver’s licenses.
The push for mobile ID adoption is bolstered by the 2021 publication of the ISO/IEC 18013-5 standard by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which outlines how mDLs should interact with reader devices and includes a verified issuer certificate authority list (VICAL) for public key sharing. AAMVA’s DTS provides this VICAL, further paving the way for secure and trusted mobile ID use.
With several states already implementing their own mDL programs, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and AAMVA’s initiatives set the stage for the mainstream acceptance of smartphone-based IDs in the U.S., offering a secure and convenient alternative to traditional physical IDs.
Source: AAMVA
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May 29, 2024 – by Tony Bitzionis
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