Having worked with more than one of those member companies in that foundation, the one thing I've learned about conspiracy theorists is that what they really lack is imagination and vision.
Identity is necessary but boring. US SSNs were used by third-parties far beyond the original purpose. Any identity system that achieves global scale can be used to anchor a risk score. Which systems do you consider good candidates for global digital identity and credit score? Cryptocurrency exchanges are using driver's license and utility company bills. The IaaS KYC EO basically says "record as much as possible", https://www.steptoeinternationalcomplianceblog.com/2021/02/u.... If we take inspiration from online advertisers, no formal "identity" is required, they can construct a profile from online signals, but there would zero legislative recourse for false positives.
Necessary for whom? Every single use case for assigned identity reduces to enforcement. It is not a consumer product people want, it's a tool to herd people. These companies and so-called foundations are just jockeying to become the next Hollerith.
Identity schemes don't need features or complexity as once you're subject to it, it can be a crappy yellow card or even an arm band you carry with you and present it when it is demanded. The rest is theatre.
I was going to say that identity is useful when replying to a comment on HN :) but you're right that the comment text could stand alone. The poster's identity is only needed for karma sorting and greylisting of comments.
