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Comment by throwawaysea | Hacker News Reader

What I would like to see next is an investigation into why this process was considered at all and how the vendor was selected. I find this entire situation deeply suspicious, since MOST online services (including financial services) do not need this kind of invasive verification process and do not require interfacing with a random third-party. My cynical guess is that id.me has some connection (like via political donations) to those who had the power to effect this change.

It also looks like many states use id.me for various purposes (example https://www.reuters.com/business/states-using-idme-rival-ide...). I would also want those decisions revisited and investigated.

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It is even more suspicious why ID.me would even be thought of when login.gov exists.

Let us also find out why a non governmental entity is handling security screenings:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clear_Secure

>Let us also find out why a non governmental entity is handling *

Ex-gov here. It is baked into gov thinking that the most desirable solution to difficult problems is to give it to the commercial sector. To a degree, it recognizes that a core responsibility of US gov is to support US commerce. One may argue how that philosophy encourages certain forms of corruption (swinging door, price abominations etc) but it's an accepted cost of doing business. What's good for GM is still, in those corridors, felt to be good for America.

I'm not arguing that this is a good thing. But it's how US gov thinks. That is why these problems are farmed out to the commercial sector. And as ex-gov, I can tell you that the government is a cash cow. And that's how they like it. And business. They like that too.

Has anyone identified which politician or subset of politicians helped give this specific idea life? Not the general one about contracting out work through bidding where the circumstances call for it. The specific one about doing so as a global approach to such an extent that we have non government entities handling so many core competencies.

>why this process was considered at all

Tax Refund theft. The IRS pays out billions every year in returns filed by scammers.

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