At Identity Week America 2025, former data protection director John Fiske shared his perspectives on identity assurance and its role in digital safety. Transitioning from six years at Meta into the identity space, Fiske emphasised the tensions between privacy and security online and the need for robust yet low-friction identity verification solutions.
Fiske highlighted key use cases for identity verification, including youth protection through age checks, fraud prevention in marketplaces, and secure account recovery amid a black market for stolen accounts.
Regarding technology trends, Fiske stressed the value of passwordless authentication and biometrics, including passkeys and face recognition, applied judiciously depending on the use case—such as confirming celebrity accounts or protecting minors online.
He also addressed the risks of AI, from deepfakes and hallucinations to broader societal concerns like manipulation, emphasizing ongoing efforts to manage both short-term technical and privacy challenges. On age verification specifically, Fiske acknowledged current technology is not 100% accurate but argued that even partial reliability is crucial for protecting youth, provided there are escalation paths for mismatches.
