To combat the rising identity fraud crisis enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), the United States Postal Service (USPS) would be authorized to offer identity proofing and identity-related services to the private sector under a bipartisan bill sponsored on Sept. 30 by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
“AI is a powerful tool and while it has the potential for good, bad actors can exploit it to do harm,” Sen. Cassidy said. “As we learn to navigate a world with AI, Americans must have tools to combat identity fraud.”
The Post Office Services for Trustworthy Identity Act, or the POST ID Act, H.R. 3003, which is cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), would allow, but not require, USPS to offer the private sector the same identity verification and related services it currently makes available to government agencies, according to a one-page bill summary provided by Sen. Cassidy’s staff.
USPS also would be authorized to issue authenticators to verified individuals, such as physical security keys, for use in future interactions, and to conduct identity proofing at any USPS location or through their authorized employees at any other location, says the summary.
Among several other provisions, USPS also would be authorized to charge such fees as necessary to cover the costs of providing these services, states the summary.
“Criminals using hacked personal information made it hard enough to verify a person’s identity — now AI deepfakes have added a whole new challenge for the most common verification methods,” said Sen. Wyden. “The best way to confirm who someone is, is in-person verification. I am proud to co-sponsor this common-sense legislation with Sen. Cassidy to enable American businesses to partner with the Post Office to protect their customers from identity thieves.”
H.R. 3003 is supported by the Better Identity Coalition and Okta Inc.