By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that in 2021 Florida will be the first State to issue mobile drivers licenses? The licenses will as well have an added role as an authentication tool online.
Drivers will be able to apply for these new mobile licenses sometime in 2021, according to a press release from Thales, the company providing the service to the Florida Department of Highway and Motor vehicles.
“I’m excited for this innovation project that will make the state of Florida a national leader in offering secure and trusted mobile identification,” stated Terry L. Rhodes, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. “We have made a sustained commitment to the modernization of nearly every aspect of what our department does and how customers access our services, and Thales will be a great partner as Florida now steps into the future of mobile identification.”
Neither Rhodes nor any spokesperson for Thales spoke of how privacy issues, or stolen identity will be prevented once these new mobile apps are implemented. With so much cyber theft via mobile phones, Floridians no doubt will be hesitant to use this new service.
Thames public press release exalting the partnership between their company and the State of Florida only comment regarding privacy concerns state, “For stronger privacy, users of the mobile driver licenses control what information is displayed from the app depending on the context,’ the company said in it’s release. “For example, to enter a casino it only needs to show that the individual is old enough and the mobile driver license will just display that information – not the individual’s name, date of birth, or address.”
Currently, there is no indication that mobile drivers licenses in the State of Florida will become mandatory, but like everything with government, a time will most likely come that mobile app drivers licenses will become compulsory for every resident within our state.