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Louisiana Adopts Digital Driver's Licenses (ieee.org)
Louisiana is rolling out a new digital driver's license app, called LA Wallet, that will let retailers digitally verify the age of their customers, if required. "According to IEEE Spectrum, Louisiana's Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control is expected to announce that bars, restaurants, grocery stores and other retails are allowed to accept LA Wallet as proof of age, according to the app's developer, Envoc." From the report: The Baton Rouge-based company launched LA Wallet in June, after two years of collaboration with state officials. But so far only law enforcement officers making routine traffic stops are required to accept the digital driver's license. Next week's announcement would greatly broaden the scope of the app's use. About 71,000 people have downloaded LA Wallet so far, says Calvin Fabre, founder and president of Envoc. The app costs $5.99 in the Google Play and Apple App stores. Users buy it, create an account with some basic information from their physical driver's license, and create a password. That's it. No biometric security -- like iris scans or facial recognition -- required. The app links back to Louisiana's Office of Motor Vehicles database, which completes the digital license with the user's photo and additional information. Any changes to the license, like a suspension or renewal, are updated immediately in the app with a wireless network connection.
To present the license -- say, to a cop during a traffic stop -- the driver (hoping his phone battery isn't dead) opens the app with a password, shows the cop the digital license image, and authenticates it by pressing and holding the screen to reveal a security seal. The license can be flipped over to show a scannable bar code on the back. There's also a handy security feature that allows anyone with the LA Wallet app to authenticate another person's Louisiana digital driver's license. It allows the bar patron to select which information she would like to reveal to the bartender -- in this case, simply the fact that she is over 21. That information is displayed on the phone with a photo and embedded QR code. The bartender scans the code with her app, which tells her that the woman seated on the other side of the bar is indeed over 21. None of the customer's personal information, such as her name, birth date, or address, is displayed or stored on the bartender's phone.
To present the license -- say, to a cop during a traffic stop -- the driver (hoping his phone battery isn't dead) opens the app with a password, shows the cop the digital license image, and authenticates it by pressing and holding the screen to reveal a security seal. The license can be flipped over to show a scannable bar code on the back. There's also a handy security feature that allows anyone with the LA Wallet app to authenticate another person's Louisiana digital driver's license. It allows the bar patron to select which information she would like to reveal to the bartender -- in this case, simply the fact that she is over 21. That information is displayed on the phone with a photo and embedded QR code. The bartender scans the code with her app, which tells her that the woman seated on the other side of the bar is indeed over 21. None of the customer's personal information, such as her name, birth date, or address, is displayed or stored on the bartender's phone.
Here's my unlocked phone, officer.
If the mobile device needs to be unlocked to present the information (regardless of the status of the app and license itself), then in many cases Law Enforcement has already bypassed the initial roadblock to getting a user to unlock his/her phone to access other data on it.
If, on the other hand, this is available from the lock screen (with the mentioned additional authentication), much like a payment card via Apple Wallet or similar capabilities, then it's pretty convenient without an obvious security circumvention issue.
I didn't see an indication in the article or on the app delveloper's site to indicate which of these options is the case.
Tracks you, tracks your purchases for gov, and provides "unlockable" phones for cops when pulled over.
How about a big fat NO FUCKING THANKS
Good times.
Instead of spending a lot of time and effort creating a system to enforce Puritanical drinking age regulations, lower the drinking age to 18 and don't require people "show their papers" just to be able to buy a pint of beer. It works like this in most of the non-Islamic world, and the world outside the US mostly gets by just fine. Governments spend a lot more time than is sane trying to enforce rules against victimless crimes.
Last thing I want is my only form of ID to be in my phone. What happens during a traffic stop usually? Cop takes your licence/id back to their car to write up your ticket and or look for other things like warrants. What are they going to do in this case, take your phone with them. No way I want a cop having unattended access to my phone.
It prevents bars from using mandatory ID checks to build databases of customers... which most "bar code verifier" stations do when bouncers check ID. That level of access control is an objectively good thing.
There are many other problems (for instance, this app probably uses that to record how many times you go to bars, and syncs your phone to real name in a way that is sold to FB) that are added. But, you know, one step forward, four steps back.
Your ad here. Ask me how!
Once you willingly unlock your phone for the officer. he can legally search it if he feels it is necessary. No thank you, I will stick with the card.