Michigan could start allowing digital IDs under bills that received a state Senate committee hearing Tuesday.
The IDs would be saved to someone’s phone and could be used for things like buying alcohol or getting into a bar.
Nick Andary is with the Michigan Department of State. While testifying before the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he said having the option could make life easier.
“Especially in the digitized world where now we have our credit cards on our phone and other digital wallets, [it’s] kind of a way that you can kind of leave the house just with your phone and have all the information you need right there,” Andary said.
People would still be asked for physical IDs for voting and need them for driving. Despite that requirement, the Michigan Sheriffs' Association opposes the bill package out of concerns for the extra work and liability risk law enforcement could face when taking someone's phone.
Executive Director Matthew Saxton said working with a phone instead of a hard copy would create new problems for law enforcement.
“We don't want the officers holding that phone on the side of the road and maybe drop it and break that individual's phone. Just a lot of issues that we could see go wrong with it. Plus, that individual can say, well, ‘The officer illegally searched my phone while they had possession of it,’” Saxton said in an interview.
The bills also saw opposition from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
The group raised concerns that the package could lead to unconstitutional searches of people’s phones and more data being collected than necessary.
Christine Sauvé is policy, engagement, and communications manager with the group.
“The risks to data privacy are too great, particularly as federal agencies routinely seek access to such databases for immigration enforcement. The (mobile driver’s license) could easily become a tool for government and corporate surveillance, giving detailed information about someone's habits and purchases,” Sauvé said in a statement.
Supporters of the legislation, however, said there would be safeguards to keep those types of abuses from happening.
Committee chair and package sponsor state Senator Erika Geiss (D-Taylor) said people would only be able to see limited information needed to verify someone’s identity, rather than someone’s address and other personal information included on a physical ID card.
“If you just need to prove how old you are and that you’re of legal age to partake in whatever activities, that you are able to do so without opening yourself up to potential harm,” Geiss said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.
Similar bills passed the state Senate last term but didn’t move in the state House of Representatives.
