Not-so-Smart IDs?

It was announced this week that Smart Identity Cards would replace ordinary ID cards by the end of June, a move seen as a precursor to a complete shift to electronic ID cards by the end of the year. The Smart ID will include a citizen’s photograph and biometric data, while the eventual electronic ID is expected to comprise security features against tampering, counterfeiting and forgery, and will include a person’s photograph, bio data, fingerprints and blood group. 

The move, which is the brainchild of Minister of Telecommunication and Infrastructure Harin Fernando, will signal a shift towards digital wallets and online social welfare mechanisms but it has been met with some resistance. The main cause for concern has centred around privacy and the recording of biometrics data. However more pressing are questions surrounding the capability of Sri Lanka’s present legislation to handle the array of new problems a shift towards a digital economy may bring.

While cash remains the most preferred payment mode in Sri Lanka and accounts for more than 90% of all retail payments, according to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, more than 800,000 credit cards have been issued within the first quarter of 2016 and the total value of transactions amounts to Rs. 65 billion. In this context news that a Sri Lankan fintech firm is introducing a mobile wallet payment solution leads to a possible future where electronic IDs could be used for the same.

However, new reports indicate that gaps still exist in the current Sri Lankan laws that regulate consumer rights and data protection in mobile and online platforms. Legal experts have pointed out that the Consumer Affairs Act of Sri Lanka is inadequate as a dispute resolution mechanism in the current digital era, where transactions occur in online trading platforms.

Digital consumer rights protections need to be enacted into law to prevent and keep privacy violating companies at bay. To compound matters most consumers are unaware of their digital rights and cannot fight these issues individually. Though an inter-Ministerial Committee came to a determination to fast-track consumer protection, laws are way behind the new technology.

Sri Lanka also lacks an adequate and fair mechanism to protect online traders’ rights. These issues become important because about 30% of the local population is now connected to the internet today. Gaps in the Electronics Transaction Act #19 of 2006 in respect of cybercrime, security and data have also been publicly pointed out. These developments highlight the need for a comprehensive data protection regime based on an adequate institutional framework.

On the whole, the rights of traders, the needs of consumers in the e-market, greater entrepreneurship to expand e-commerce in Sri Lanka and the changing regulatory landscape for consumer protection in the digital area, are all outstanding issues to be resolved. While the goal of an electronic ID is a progressive ideal which will put Sri Lanka at the global forefront when it comes to census data and ICT in general, it is crucial that policymakers ensure the country’s legislation is up to the task of supporting such bold steps prior to implementation.