World Bank pushes for government control of digital ID
'Creating a digital identity platform for citizenry is kind of fundamental and I believe your government should be the owner of your digital ID; private companies should not own that,' said Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank.
The push for digital ID continues with the president of the World Bank becoming its biggest cheerleader.
Ajay Banga urged world leaders to make the transition at the bank’s inaugural Global Digital Summit. He said all countries should embrace digital ID and give access — not control — to private enterprises, reported The Sociable.
“Creating a digital identity platform for citizenry is kind of fundamental and I believe your government should be the owner of your digital ID; private companies should not own that,” said Banga.
"Once you do that, then connect them to the infrastructure of a private company, either Ericsson or Verizon, or combinations of them, in fact mostly it’s a combination,” he added.
“Then the question is, ‘What do you do with it that requires a digital ID?’ so you can start connecting with that citizen.”
World Bank Pres Ajay Banga: "Creating a digital identity platform for citizenry is foundational; your govt should be the owner of your digital ID.. If you want this to be embraced around the world.. get a digital ID & move from there" Global Digital Summit https://t.co/Sa1GzCnloQ pic.twitter.com/kKClx5iUuT
— Tim Hinchliffe (@TimHinchliffe) March 11, 2024
During the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rebel News attempted to ask the World Bank president about the transition towards digital forms of payment, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). He did not directly answer the question.
"That goes back to my prior life; not today," he said. "You should ask the CEOs of the cash payment companies."
Rebel cited the example of frozen bank accounts in Canada for 'political reasons' following the 2022 Freedom Convoy, since deemed unconstitutional, but Banga did not respond.
While the Bank of Canada has clarified that CBDCs are nothing more than a digital version of the national currency, The National Telegraph warned that CBDCs can have built-in controls to discriminate against taxpayers in any category deemed necessary by the government.
At the Global Digital Summit, Banga specifically urged governments to oversee the necessary infrastructure to guarantee privacy and security for its population.
"They should have the digital identity; that digital identity should guarantee the privacy of that citizen; it should help them with their security, but the government should give the identity,” he said.
“It is the social contract of the citizens of their countries to have an identity, a currency and safety. We should not take that away from them.”
Banga claimed that without government control and regulation, people won't trust the scheme.
“You must ensure that governments guarantee the privacy of that citizen,” he said. “Because if you don’t do that, you will run into trouble with the acceptance of the idea."
“So, if you want this to be embraced around the world, yes, get the infrastructure, get a digital ID. Get that going and then move from there.”
Rebel News attempted to ask Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, about the transition towards a cashless society. He did not directly answer the question. 'That goes back to my prior life; not today,' he said.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 19, 2024
FULL REPORT by @EzraLevant: https://t.co/nyeEo3JKej
But Canada’s PPC leader Maxime Bernier doesn't buy the malarkey.
"[CBDCs] will make it easier to prevent us from giving money to certain causes that the government doesn't like — a genuine possibility after the freezing of bank accounts during the Freedom Convoy last year," he said.
"A digital currency will be the strongest tool in the government's toolkit to control the population, and it would be extremely naive to believe that they will never use it," added Bernier.
"Can we trust them after [they] froze bank accounts during the Freedom Convoy? After they printed hundreds of billions to fund Trudeau's gigantic deficits? No!" he says.
A recent central bank poll of nearly 90,000 Canadians found that 85% of respondents would not use the digital dollar if it became available. Only 12% said they would “potentially” use it, whereas the other 3% said they didn’t know.
Last May 8, the Bank of Canada launched public consultations on the 'usefulness' of digital currencies, only to conclude that a government-issued digital currency would be feasible if most Canadians requested the option.
Young Canadians (18–34) generally viewed digital ID positively, with nearly half (49%) endorsing the idea. However, many older and low-income people still rely on cash transactions.
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