> Imagine you walk up to the DMV and get a private key (password).
So, the government has control over your identity. If it wants to shut you down, it would just refuse to verify your certificate. And you'd instantly lose access to every website, bank account, phone number, etc. you had. The government would also automatically know every time you create any account anywhere - as they get a ping on their auth services. Does you trust in the government extend this far? Fo you have any politician you do not trust? Imagine he or she becomes in control of the system. Are you still OK with the government controlling the keys to your life?
Ok, let's assume it does. What happens when (note, I do not say if) somebody unauthorized gets access to the keys stored at the DMV? They'd be able to fake any identity the want to. And the only way to fix it is to force everybody (hundreds of millions of people) to re-certify. Imagine how well will that go.
> Track me all you want as long as you don't know who I am
There's massive body of research that indicates unless you take special measures, like injecting noise into the system, tracking can lead to identification in a very short time. Just think about it - tracking will immediately tell where you live, where you work, where you shop, which businesses you patronize, which music do you listen to, etc. etc. - how many people have exactly the same profile as you do? Likely not many. Now if at any point connected to your profile any piece of your identity leaks out - your anonymity is gone forever.
So, the government has control over your identity. If it wants to shut you down, it would just refuse to verify your certificate. And you'd instantly lose access to every website, bank account, phone number, etc. you had. The government would also automatically know every time you create any account anywhere - as they get a ping on their auth services. Does you trust in the government extend this far? Fo you have any politician you do not trust? Imagine he or she becomes in control of the system. Are you still OK with the government controlling the keys to your life?
Ok, let's assume it does. What happens when (note, I do not say if) somebody unauthorized gets access to the keys stored at the DMV? They'd be able to fake any identity the want to. And the only way to fix it is to force everybody (hundreds of millions of people) to re-certify. Imagine how well will that go.
> Track me all you want as long as you don't know who I am
There's massive body of research that indicates unless you take special measures, like injecting noise into the system, tracking can lead to identification in a very short time. Just think about it - tracking will immediately tell where you live, where you work, where you shop, which businesses you patronize, which music do you listen to, etc. etc. - how many people have exactly the same profile as you do? Likely not many. Now if at any point connected to your profile any piece of your identity leaks out - your anonymity is gone forever.