UK insists digital ID data will reside domestically

The UK government is emphasizing data residency as a core security principle for its planned national digital identity system, confirming that all associated data will be stored within secure cloud environments located inside the country, reports Biometric Update.

This assurance was provided by Junior Minister Josh Simons in response to parliamentary questions seeking clarity on sovereign control over the critical infrastructure. However, this commitment to physical data residency does not fully resolve concerns over legal jurisdiction, as the government's primary cloud providers, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, are U.S.-based companies subject to the CLOUD Act.

This U.S. law empowers American authorities to compel these companies to hand over data, regardless of its physical location. The government has countered these concerns by stating it uses encryption to protect data and that the system will be decentralized, meaning personal data attributes would be stored in a user's digital wallet and within existing departmental databases rather than a single, central repository.

Despite these measures, the plan continues to face scrutiny from opposition politicians and industry experts who question the sufficiency of these protections for the sensitive personal information a national digital ID will encompass.