Privacy and the 7 Laws of Identity

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In 2005, the late Kim Cameron penned “The Laws of Identity.” The paper explored how to give internet users a deep sense of safety, privacy, and certainty about their interactions online. With the proliferation of web-based services and applications, it was essential to develop a formal understanding of the dynamics causing digital identity systems to succeed or fail. Nearly 20 years later, Cameron’s seven laws of identity are still applicable today. 

Published shortly after the dot-com bust and the introduction of social media, this paper came at a point of inflection for the Internet. Today, with the promise of Web3, a metaverse, and adjusting to a largely virtual working world, we’re living through a similar shift in history. For both points in time, digital identity is at the epicenter—and it’s worth remembering some tried and true lessons from the past.