Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is making digital ID mandatory for all business entities participating in state tenders, in a move the government says is intended to improve transparency and reduce fraud.
Officials say every procurement submission will require a digital ID to authenticate the identity of the submitting party. The policy aligns with the National Digital Identity Policy 2025, under which the government plans to issue secure and interoperable digital IDs to all citizens.
The country is already rolling out SevisPass Digital ID and SevisWallet as part of a broader decentralised digital public infrastructure programme being built by Tech5. The digital ID is expected to support access to public services as well as remote KYC for online bank accounts.
New Zealand
Air New Zealand has completed a trial of new digital identity technology aimed at reducing repeated passport checks and making travel more seamless.
The pilot allowed customers to add passport information in the Air New Zealand app, share verified identity data during online check-in and use that information to support biometric verification at selected touchpoints during the journey. The trial also supported Apple Wallet’s Digital ID.
The airline says the technology could help prefill passport details, guide travellers on the documents needed for their trip and reduce the need to repeatedly show passports during check-in, boarding, transit and arrival.
Canada
Facephi has opened a new subsidiary in British Columbia as part of its strategy to expand internationally and strengthen its position in digital identity and fraud prevention.
The Spanish company says Canada is an attractive market because of strong growth in cybersecurity and digital identity demand, driven by digital transformation in financial services, public administration and critical services, alongside increasingly stringent regulation.
With the new office, Facephi now operates through subsidiaries in Spain, Brazil, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Canada.
Europe
ENISA has opened a public consultation on a draft cybersecurity certification scheme for European Digital Identity Wallets and electronic identity schemes.
The consultation is intended to validate the structure and core principles of the proposed scheme and gather feedback on its draft elements and annexes. The review period runs until 30 April, following publication of the proposal at the end of March.
The move follows ENISA’s earlier agreement to support national EUDI Wallet certification schemes across EU member states, reflecting the growing focus on assurance and interoperability in Europe’s digital identity framework.
Austria
Authorities in Austria are warning that scammers are targeting digital ID users whose certificates are due to expire.
According to police, fraudulent text messages are urging recipients to renew or update their digital ID registrations, leading victims to realistic phishing pages and, in some cases, to telephone calls designed to persuade them to install remote access software. Several cases have already led to significant financial losses.
Police say official notifications about digital ID renewals are sent only by email or through official apps, and have urged users not to grant remote access to their computers under any circumstances.
United Kingdom
A new YouGov poll suggests strong public support in the UK for age checks on websites containing adult or potentially harmful content.
The survey found that 75 percent of Britons support age verification, age estimation or age inference for such services. Support remains high even though relatively few respondents believe the checks will be fully effective in stopping children from accessing pornography.
The findings indicate continued backing for age assurance measures under the Online Safety Act, even as debate continues over effectiveness, privacy and implementation methods.
Europe
At the same time, the European Commission has announced a new European age verification app that will allow users to prove they are above a certain age online without revealing unnecessary personal information.
Under the plan, users will verify their age by uploading a passport or ID card, after which platforms will be able to confirm only whether the person is above or below a relevant age threshold, such as 16 or 18. Birthdates and other personal details would not be shared.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the app is intended to give platforms a simple, privacy-focused solution as pressure grows for stronger online protections for children.
Jordan
Jordan’s House of Representatives has approved amendments to the country’s civil status legislation that formally establish digital ID and make it mandatory for access to public services.
The new provisions define digital ID as the electronic version of the national ID card and require it to be recognised by both government entities and private-sector organisations. The law will take effect once it is formally gazetted.
The legislation also introduces a digital mail address system for citizens over 18 and sets replacement fees for lost identity documents and family books.
United Kingdom
The UK government is urging certified digital verification service providers to ensure their certification claims are accurate and not misleading.
Officials say providers can only be certified against the UK’s digital identity and attributes trust framework and its supplementary codes, not directly against sector-specific regulations such as the money laundering regulations. Terms such as “certified for anti-money laundering” or “certified for Know Your Customer checks” are therefore considered inaccurate.
The government says misleading descriptions risk undermining trust in the digital verification ecosystem and could ultimately put certification status at risk. Providers are instead being encouraged to describe which supplementary codes they are certified against and which sectors or use cases their services are designed to support.
