Release the Data

Digital ID in New Zealand

Updated 15 October, 2025

The section below is a summary of the proposed Digital ID rollout in New Zealand.

The Sales Pitch
Risks of Digital ID
Bad Government

The Sales Pitch for Digital ID

The Digital ID System is a national framework that lets people prove who they are online without repeatedly having to hand over full identity documents.

So instead of handing over copies of your drivers license or passport every single time, you create a digital ID through an accredited provider, the provider then verifies your identity only once using official records and then when you log into a participating service it only confirms specific attributes such as your age or name rather than transferring all of that personal data to a new system.

So the system itself is designed to limit data sharing and give users control and consent over what information is passed on.

It is federated, which means there isn't just one central database. Instead, several trusted providers operate under strict privacy accreditation and cyber security standards.

Risks of Digital ID

While digital ID limits data sharing, it still concentrates an enormous amount of power in one place; the government -  as both the identity provider and the gatekeeper..

So in the future, New Zealanders may need to use the same ID to age verify themselves on major Internet Services like Google, Facebook etc, which effectively makes participation in the digital world dependent on your government issued ID.

That means it wouldn't just be about logging onto Government services but potentially every single online platform that requires proof of age or identity.

And if the Government has the power to grant that access, it would also have the power to revoke it. The under 16 social media ban being sought out by Government effectively guarantees this capacity would be built into the digital ID.

Giving any government the technical ability to cut anyone's access off to the Internet is a dangerous precedent, one that could shift quietly from convenience to control.

So far as security is concerned, potential hackers wouldn't need millions of separate records, just the verification layer that connects all the systems. That means that if just one provider or verification key is compromised, it could cascade across all those platforms.

What protections exist for private individuals if their data and access to banking etc is stolen?

Beehive NZ Parliament

Bad Government

COVID taught us that Government are willing to punish people even if those punishments have no genuine weight behind them. Consider the possibilities for Digital ID if age or identity verification becomes linked to all social interactions:

  • The ability to bank or de-bank you depending on your political opinions or beliefs.
  • The ability to impose time limited restrictions on things that ordinarily would be free for you to choose.
  • The ability to mandate conditions (e.g. Vaccine) upon which access to movement or services are provided.
  • The ability to control your purchasing decisions depending on the Government's position on different things.
  • The ability to censor you if your opinions or beliefs are in contrary to the Government's on areas like health, education, environment, and humanity.

While aspects of Digital ID may simplify certain areas of life, the conditions around the Digital ID matters.

DIGITAL ID HAS ALREADY BEEN OPTED INTO (On some levels)

Many are against digital ID but most have already agreed to it in some shape or form. It just wasn’t marketed as Digital lD, it was marketed as ‘safety’, ‘fraud prevention’, ‘age verification’, ‘security’, etc. And it was done with private Companies like Google and Facebook. 

The primary difference between what you may already have signed up with vs. what the Government are proposing, is that Government’s proposed model potentially ties everything you transact together under ONE umbrella. And the infrastructure and legislation for this proposal has been building for years. 

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

  1. Privacy – Every move will be traceable. 
  2. Freedom – Access conditional on credentials.  
  3. Security – A single breach – total exposure
  4. Equality – Offline citizens are completely left behind
  5. Democracy – Data driven governance without consent

Convenience is the sugar coating, control is the pill beneath.

Catherine Wedd’s Proposed Social Media Bill

National Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd has put forward a new members’ bill to protect young people from social media harm by restricting access for under 16s.

This particular measure – age restricted access, is one of the key bridges between a simple government ID and an all-pervasive, full surveillance tool of every individual. The proposed bill specifically being aimed at social media platforms, would enforce the following standards onto social media providers:

  • Provider obligations: Social media platforms must take all reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from creating accounts.
  • Enforcement: The Bill introduces penalties for non-compliance, with courts empowered to issue financial penalties against platforms that fail to uphold age restrictions.
  • Defences for providers: Platforms can rely on reasonable verification measures to demonstrate compliance.
  • Regulatory oversight: The Minister will have the authority to designate specific platforms as age-restricted and enforce compliance.
  • Review mechanism: The law will be reviewed three years after implementation to assess its effectiveness and consider necessary amendments.


WHAT THIS MEANS

It means that not just under 16’s, but ALL adults, will be forced to go through a verification check when signing in to Social Media platforms. This means identity data connected to social media use, which would also means that every interaction made on platforms like YouTube or Facebook, is now directly traceable by government and your ongoing participation in those social media platforms also becomes controllable by Government.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

  1. Loss of online sovereignty – if Government doesn’t like or agree with the content you are posting or consuming, they can take your access rights away without notice.
  2. Loss of Refuge – Your ability to simply wind down and relax using social media platforms is compromised by knowing that even your leisure time is being ‘watched’. 
  3. Personal Choice – Your ability to make genuine individual choices online are compromised by ‘big brother’ government watching over your every move. You are more likely to self-censor and sabotage your own online behaviour by engaging in ways you would think the government would approve.
  4. Cheaters will still cheat – Governments know that anyone with the desire will always find a way to bypass the system, and this includes malicious actors who prey on others. This leaves regular, innocent people as the victims of government overreach.

‘Online Safety’ is the sugar coating, control is the pill beneath.

Examples of items within Digital ID...

Discussion on Digital Driver's Licences

This will have verified your passport, birth certificate, and any other identifier documents that help to connect your likeness to your Digital ID. This qualifies your right to acquire property, work inside the country, and connect to Welfare and other public services.

Digital lD becomes the default for KYC (know your customer) check when signing up to banks or any platforms where currency is being acquired, kept, and exchanged. This allows for exact transaction logs to be kept and identified for monitoring, review and taxation (where necessary) 

Every pupil carries a unique pupil number which provides academic records, report data, attendance logs, and any other information deemed of interest to each pupil. It can be tied to location data, ensuring that students are at their allocated locations in real-time when at school.