Title: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

The Information Society requires technologies that address trust and security yet also preserve the privacy of individuals.  As the Information Society develops, the increasingly digital representation of personal characteristics changes our methods of identifying individuals.  Supplementary digital identities, so-called virtual identities, embodying concepts such as pseudonymity and anonymity, are being created for security, profit, convenience or even for fun.  These new identities are feeding back into the world of social and business affairs, offering a mix of plural identities and challenging traditional notions of identity.  At the same time, nation states manage identities in very different ways.  For example, in Germany holding an ID card is mandatory from the age of 16, while in the UK state-issued identity cards do not exist and it is not yet clear whether they would be accepted by the population.  Identity as a contemporary phenomenon and a research domain, therefore, pertains to multiple areas of modern life, having implications across the board, ranging from the concept of self right up to the macro social level.

The FIDIS research network has been set up to address these important issues and others.

FIDIS work is currently divided into 7 research activities, although more will emerge as time goes on:

 Identity of Identity”

 Profiling

 Interoperability of IDs and ID management systems

 Forensic Implications

 De-Identification

 High-Tech ID

 Mobility and Identity

What sets this project apart from others in the identity domain is its interdisciplinary and multi-national nature.