Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation's Cybersecurity
EO 14144
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What the document is
A cybersecurity order whose Section 5, titled Solutions to Combat Cybercrime and Fraud, directed agencies to encourage acceptance of digital identity documents for access to public benefit programs and to help states issue mobile driver licenses. On June 6, 2025 a subsequent executive order struck Section 5 in its entirety, leaving the rest of the order standing.
Why it is in the report
This is the closest the United States government has come to a federal push for digital identity credentials in ordinary civilian life, and it is documented in both directions: the push and the withdrawal, five months apart, both in the Federal Register.
What this document does not say. Section 5 encouraged acceptance of digital identity documents. It did not create a national identity card, did not mandate one, and no longer operates at all. The stated reason for striking it was concern about benefit fraud rather than concern about surveillance. Read both orders before characterizing either.
Pull it yourself
- Open the Federal Register and read Executive Order 14144, including Section 5.
- Find the June 6, 2025 order amending it and read what was struck.
- Note the stated reason given for the removal and weigh it yourself.
Cite this record
The White House. Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation's Cybersecurity. Executive order, 2025-01-16. https://www.federalregister.gov/executive-order/14144
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