AMMAN — The Minister
of
Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Ahmad Hanandeh, announced on Tuesday
that discussions to gradually digitalize official documents are taking place.
اضافة اعلان
The minister recently
told local outlet Al-Mamlaka that these documents include driving licenses, IDs,
birth certificates, family books, health insurance cards, and Jordanian university
certificates.
Hanandeh noted that
there has been an initial acceptance from official authorities that issue such
documents, but that some challenges must be overcome so citizens can have their
digital documents within an electronic wallet.
He pointed out the
possibility of amending legislation and regulations to apply to this digital
transformation.
“The digital ID may be
the real alternative to the civil status ID card, but in the short term there
is no such plan, and the use of the digital ID aims to digitally identify
citizens in terms of digital services and digital and electronic signature,”
the minister said.
According to
Al-Mamlaka, the ministry announced on Tuesday that the activation of digital ID
for citizens will start in the coming days, stressing that citizens are
required to show up in person for only one time in order to activate the
service.
The Ministry of
Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship was not available for comment despite
attempts by
Jordan News.
Issa Mahasneh,
executive director of the Jordan Open Source Association (JOSA), said in a
phone interview with
Jordan News that the ministry’s digital transformation
strategy suggests giving citizens digital identifications so they can access and
benefit from all e-government services.
“The absence of a law
on protecting personal data is a problem we face in Jordan,” added Mahasneh.
“Consequently; there is no public legal framework to protect data collection
and processing.”
“This means that, when
citizens give their personal data to some agency, in theory, there is no
prevention that such data can be shared with a third party,” he said.
Mahasneh said that the
privacy of citizens’ personal data should be “respected” and considered in
digitalizing the identities.
“It would be better if
there were a law to regulate data collection, processing and transfer … It must
be guaranteed that the personal data of citizens is not infringed,” Mahasneh
added.
“The digital ID serves
as a single identifier for each citizen … It has become a necessary idea as all
of the countries that have advanced e-government programs have already
digitalized identities, which makes it easier for citizens to access all
electronic services by a single sign on, and improves the user experience in
dealing with such services,” he said.
However, Mahsaneh
noted that some people do not have smartphones, access to the internet, or the
needed digital literacy to use technology, so there must be some alternative
non-electronic method to provide these groups with government services.
“Of course, we want to
have more services digitalized, at the same time; we should take into account
that not all citizens have the same level of access to the internet, and that
such services should be facilitated and accessible to persons with disabilities,”
he added.
According to JOSA’s website, in 2019, JOSA signed a
memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Digital Economy and
Entrepreneurship for cooperation in the fields of open government
data, open source software, and other topics like personal data protection and
digital security.
Mahasneh said that the
ministry and JOSA jointly hold workshops and discussion sessions on public policy
and the digital transformation plan.
However, some have
expressed concerns about the digitalization of official documents given that
they are digitally illiterate or do not have access to the internet.
A 59-year-old woman in
Amman, who spoke to
Jordan News on the condition of anonymity, said that due to
difficult economic circumstances, she lacks online connectivity.
“I can afford neither
internet at home nor a smartphone. Even if I could, I do not know how to use
it, so how am I supposed to access government services?” she added.
However, Zahi Ismael,
65, told
Jordan News over the phone that although he has a smartphone, he can
hardly use it to send messages to his family and friends.
“My son has taught me
how to use WhatsApp. I do not know about any other application,” he said, “I
think there is no need for a digital ID, I always prefer the traditional ways.”
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