ALBANY — Claims on social media and by a civil rights group warning that New York’s optional digital driver’s license will allow government to track New Yorkers have prompted an official effort to rebut the fears.

The state Department of Motor Vehicle's announcement last week seeks to "bust myths" about the new voluntary IDs, called Mobile ID.

Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said the Mobile ID is "carefully designed" to protect users' privacy.

"The power of safeguarding your most personal information is literally in your hands," he said. "Unlike your physical license, you do not have to hand your phone over to anyone in order for them to confirm your identity."

The commissioner said the benefits and safeguards of Mobile ID include:

"The DMV does not and cannot track where you use your Mobile ID ... When and where you use your Mobile ID is only stored on your phone and cannot be retrieved by the DMV."
"The New York Mobile ID was designed in compliance with the most stringent international standards for personal identification."
The QR code that activates the ID "contains no personal data, but rather establishes an encrypted connection between your device and the verifiers ... You will be asked to consent to sharing the information being requested by the verifier ... If you consent to sharing your information, the verifier receives only the pieces of information you consented to share."

The optional digital driver’s licenses and digital nondriver identification images were first issued this summer through free apps for smartphones. Digital IDs are not a substitute for driver and nondriver identification cards and are not yet widely accepted as proof of indication. More than 25 states have adopted or are moving toward adopting the virtual IDs.

The digital IDs can be accessed by cellphones to quickly identify the holder while traveling, at bars, stores that sell liquor and tobacco products, doctor’s offices and more — as long as the business decides to accept them. More than 20 airports accept the ID for passengers, including New York’s Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. Law enforcement hasn’t yet widely accepted use of the digital IDs for traffic stops.

Gov. Kathy Hochul had called the new IDs "cutting-edge technology" for convenience and additional security for those who choose to use it. Instead of having to hand over an ID, for example, Mobile ID holders can simply show their phone.

More than 170,000 New Yorkers joined the Mobile ID program since June.

Since then, social media has lit up with concerns that the virtual IDs will serve an authoritarian government at the cost of personal privacy, including calling digital IDs "deep state psyops."

The conservative Rebel News website is pushing a petition claiming digital IDs "call for invasive collection of biometric markers, location data, banking information and vaccination records … digitization will surely have dire consequences for our lives as governments assert more power over us."

But the concern is broader.

The New York Civil Liberties Union alerted the motor vehicles commissioner about "urgent concerns" five months before the state announced the program. The group called for investigation, public debate and a full balancing of benefits and costs of the program before it was made public.

"Without public debate or discernible legal and technical safeguards, the introduction of [Mobile ID]. … a largely untested technology and unprecedented data collection program in New York State — has the potential to undermine democratic systems, infringe on personal privacy, compromise equity and civil liberties, and exacerbate mistrust among communities wary of using DMV services," the letter said.

The company contracted to provide Mobile ID is Idemia Identity and Security USA, part of a French-based global company. Idemia has several contracts with the state for facial recognition, fingerprinting and other security programs. They include $1.91 million awarded in 2022 through 2025 along with a $1.75 million contract to provide "professional services to issue mobile driver's licenses and identification," according to state records.

The company’s political action committee made more than $37,000 in political contributions over the last two years to congressional and U.S. Senate candidates in several states, including $1,000 to Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport), according to Federal Election Commission records. The company spent more than $1.7 million lobbying Washington during that time, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets watchdog group.

The NYCLU’s concern isn’t just what Mobile ID can do now, but what in can do in the near future, said Daniel Schwarz, senior privacy and technology strategist.

Schwarz said the technology needs to be open sourced, revealing its full capabilities, and that state legislation is needed to provide safeguards "so they are true to their word and the technology does what it should."

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