Verifying identity is the government's job. Since time immemorial, governments have been issuing identity documents for their citizens. So when did it become t

Verifying identity is the government's job. Since time immemorial, governments have been issuing identity documents for their citizens. So when did it become the job of the telecom industry? So why would anyone think that a telephone number can robustly represent identity? Of course there are privacy and ethics concerns with government-issued digital identities. And they can be addressed, after we first agree with whom primary responsibility for identity assurance ought to lie, because then we can remember that all the alternatives are worse.