MOSIP
| Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Release | 2018 |
| Type | Electronic identification |
| Website | mosip.io |
MOSIP is an open source platform for digital identity management founded in Bangalore in 2018 and used nationally in many countries, especially in Africa. MOSIP stands for Modular Open Source Identity Platform. It builds on the Indian system Aadhaar,[1]: 496 and has been called "Aadhaar in a box".[2] It has been praised as expanding access to digital services to people who previously had no way to identify themselves, but has also been criticised for enabling mass surveillance and for its strong reliance on extensive biometric data.
Background and functionality
[edit]MOSIP is based on Aadhaar, a system that was developed in India in 2009 as a way for people who might lack papers or other forms of identification to establish a consistent ID using biometric data. Both MOSIP and Aadhaar are set up to use extensive biometric data, including fingerprints of all ten fingers, iris scans of both eyes and a photograph of the face for everybody over the age of five.[3]: 7
MOSIP is part of the "developmental turn in digital identity",[2]: 104 and its development was co-funded by donors such as the Norwegian government[4] the Sir Ratan Tata Trust,[2]: 105 the Omidyar Network,[2]: 105 and the Gates Foundation, although the Gates Foundation plans to wind down support as they argue that such models should be self-sustaining.[5]
MOSIP can be customised by countries according to their own policies, and has been or is being implemented in countries including Nigeria,[3] Ethiopia, Morocco, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.[6] It has been endorsed by the World Bank's ID4D program.[7] MOSIP allows data to be exchanged between different identity systems, which "limits dependence on a single service provider", which has been seen as a challenge to European companies that are trying to sell their proprietory systems to African countries.[7] MOSIP representatives say that the modular system means a country can, for example, choose to implement it without biometrics.[8]
Criticism
[edit]While there is little discussion of MOSIP in Western media, a number of critical scholarly articles have been published. The systems can be viewed as a vehicle for data colonialism, and can exclude people from services, although with improved privacy legislation this could be improved.[9] In an article published in the Journal of Contemporary African Studies, Mallika Dharmaraj argues that "if we understand Aadhaar as a technology that abets contemporary Hindu nationalism in India, its exportation to countries in East Africa eerily resembles patterns of the past."[10] Aaron Martin argued in a paper in Surveillance & Society that more consideration needs to be given to "India’s role in exporting a vision, organizing principles, and technologies" through MOSIP, especially since many of the countries implementing the system do not yet have data protection laws.[2]: 107
References
[edit]- ↑ Dharmaraj, Mallika (2026-07-03). "Surveillance in transit: a chronology of databases, power, complicity, and 'the Aadhaar model' in the Indian Ocean World". Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 44 (3). Routledge: 484–501. doi:10.1080/02589001.2026.2680955. ISSN 0258-9001.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Martin, Aaron (2021-03-05). "Aadhaar in a Box? Legitimizing Digital Identity in Times of Crisis". Surveillance & Society. 19 (1): 104–108. doi:10.24908/ss.v19i1.14547. ISSN 1477-7487.
- 1 2 Trikanad, Shruti; Bhandari, Vrinda (2022). Surveillance Enabling Identity Systems in Africa: Tracing the Fingerprints of Aadhaar (Report). Centre for Internet and Society / Privacy International.
- ↑ "Norge og India inngår avtale om digital utvikling - Digi.no - Nyhetsstudio". www.digi.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2026-09-17.
- ↑ Liang, Lu-Hai (2026-01-06). "Gates Foundation financial inclusion exit raises questions for DPI ecosystems | Biometric Update". www.biometricupdate.com. Retrieved 2026-09-17.
- ↑ "Covid-19 spurs national plans to give citizens digital identities". The Economist. Archived from the original on 2025-12-13. Retrieved 2026-09-17.
With financial support from the World Bank, two countries—Morocco and the Philippines—are implementing national ID schemes based on MOSIP, which will be rolled out early next year. Three more—Ethiopia, Guinea and Sri Lanka—are working on pilots. Several others, including Ivory Coast, Togo and Tunisia, are keen on using MOSIP... The aim is that by 2023, at least ten countries will be operating MOSIP-based digital-ID platforms and it will have become an international standard, each country having learned from the others' deployments. And the COVID emergency is lengthening the queue of countries at MOSIP's door.
- 1 2 Debos, Marielle (2025). "A Postcolonial Card Cartel: How European Companies Sold Biometric Voting in Africa". Development and Change. 56 (3): 457–483. doi:10.1111/dech.70000. ISSN 1467-7660.
- ↑ Laursen, Lucas (30 Jan 2020). "Countries Debate Openness of Future National IDs". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 2026-09-17.
- ↑ Sangwa, Sixbert (2025-10-28). "Universal Digital Identity in Africa: Biometric Surveillance, Data Sovereignty, and Eschatological Risks". Open Journal of AI, Ethics & Society (ISSN: 3105-3076). 1 (2). doi:10.65655/8tws4c18. ISSN 3105-3076.
- ↑ Dharmaraj, Mallika (2026-07-03). "Surveillance in transit: a chronology of databases, power, complicity, and 'the Aadhaar model' in the Indian Ocean World". Journal of Contemporary African Studies. 44 (3). Routledge: 484–501. doi:10.1080/02589001.2026.2680955. ISSN 0258-9001.