# Has our SSI Ecosystem Become Morally Bankrupt?

[presenting at IIW]

My name is Christopher Allen, and I wrote the 10 principles of self-sovereign identity 9 years ago, that became the name that defined our ecosystem.

Today, I challenge the SSI community to reflect on a difficult question. A question that challenges the very foundation of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). Has our ecosystem strayed from the principles that once set it apart? Have we in the SSI community lost our moral compass?

I speak not only in response to the argument [last year at IIW](https://rileyparkerhughes.medium.com/why-verifiable-credentials-arent-widely-adopted-why-trinsic-pivoted-aee946379e3b) that _“SSI didn’t work”_ but also to underscore a graver issue—that perhaps, in our pursuit of mainstream adoption, we’ve sacrificed the very principles that set SSI apart.

In a world increasingly threatened by authoritarian encroachments—where troubling examples grow by the day—we face the urgent need to protect freedom. Russia and China flout international borders and expand their influence through intimidation and repression. This rise of authoritarianism is undermining human freedom across Europe, especially in Hungary, with worrying echoes in Italy, the Netherlands, France, and across the EU. The number of refugees and stateless people are rising every year.

Closer to home, we witness troubling overreach, such as the Texas Attorney General’s request for DMV records of people who changed their names—an alarming step towards state-enabled discrimination against trans people. Imagine what might become acceptable if Trump is re-elected!

These are ominous signs of an escalating trend toward pervasive surveillance and control, not only over our private lives but also over the core of human dignity itself.

SSI was meant to stand as a bastion against these encroachments, defending personal autonomy and integrity—a world where people, not institutions, control their identities without fear of overreach, manipulation, or coercion in the face of these growing threats.

Instead of holding the line on decentralization, we've compromised by adopting watered-down specifications, such "did:web", that diminish the resilience and independence of self-sovereign identities.

Instead of insisting that LESS (Legally-Enabled Self-Sovereign) Identity enforce strict data minimization for both businesses **and** governments, we have allowed over-identification to proliferate. Furthermore, we have failed to effectively counter the overblown threats posed by the so-called 'Four Horsemen of the Digital Apocalypse'—software pirates, organized crime, child pornographers, and terrorists—while overlooking the far greater risk of tyranny and its potential for real harm against those powerless to defend themselves.

These compromises have left us vulnerable, eroding SSI’s unique value proposition compared to the centralized approaches of government-endorsed Apple and Google mDL/mDoc standards and federated corporate identity efforts, which are winning this market battle against our SSI ecosystem.

This is the real reason the SSI ecosystem may be faltering—not due to market forces, but because we have failed to commit unequivocally to to uphold the core values of decentralization and privacy, and resist compromises that undermine human dignity. By doing so, we have become indistinguishable from the very systems we set out to disrupt.

The question is not simply whether SSI has ‘worked’ in the marketplace. It is, at its heart, whether we have remained true to its ethical foundation and core principles, as envisioned from the start.

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## Tweetstorm

Today at #IIW I asked an important question: Has our SSI Ecosystem Become Morally Bankrupt? In our pursuit of mainstream adoption have we sacrificed the very principles that set Self-Sovereign Identity apart? [1/7] https://www.lifewithalacrity.com/article/ssi-bankruptcy/

This is a crucial question due to the increasing authoritarianism of the modern day. Self-Sovereign Identity was supposed to be the bastion that protected us! [2/7]

But, we've compromised! We haven't maintained standards of decentralization and data minimization. We've ignored the real harm of increasing tyranny. We're not protecting the powerless. [3/7]

If SSI is losing the marketplace battle, this is why! It's because we've sacrificed the unique value propositions of SSI to achieve market adoption! [4/7]

We need to unequivocally commit to upholding the core values of decentralization and privacy and to resisting compromises that undermine human dignity if SSI is to succeed. [5/7]

The whole argument for how the modern-day vulnerability of SSI has arisen from our compromises appears in my newest Musings of a Trust Architect. [6/7] https://www.lifewithalacrity.com/article/ssi-bankruptcy/

I am seeking sponsors so that @BlockchainComns can more directly attack the SSI problem. Contact me if you'd like to support this effort. [7/7]