In its latest Public Trust Forum Report, the Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC) says hesitations about digital trust capabilities are partly the result of a gap in education around biometrics and digital identity, and partly due to missing or incomplete trust frameworks.

In a release, DIACC President Joni Brennan says concerns about data privacy, biometric security and potential misuse of personal information are understandable. “People should rightly be concerned because there are often no easily understood rules around where their personal data lives, who owns it, or how others use it,” says Brennan. “In today’s digital world, trust remains at a premium, and the importance of identity verification is at an all-time high.”

The report draws on a pair of Public Trust Forum sessions wherein academics, non-profit organizations, private companies, and governments at the provincial level discussed how to foster and sustain secure and inclusive digital transformation, and the role that ID verification will play. The full report is available here, but the DIACC highlights key takeaways and recommendations that include firm statements on issues such as consent, terminology and public communication.

One major conclusion is that universal acceptance of digital trust capabilities is a unicorn.