That doesn't work for the US, because any constraints on use are politically unpalatable. Any capability that the government creates thus turns into a security vulnerability to be exploited by business.
For example, even just assigning everybody unique identifiers (social security number, drivers' license number) has allowed businesses to demand these identifiers to track customers in privately-held surveillance databases. This system has already grown out of control with little sign of stopping.
A "secure" e-signature token would lead to even more businesses demanding your "identity". Imagine having to pay twice as much for groceries for wanting to keep your purchases personal!
I'd much rather suffer the small work of (print, sign, scan, cache, burn) until I see some reigning in of private surveillance databases.
SSNs are problematic because they are expected to be both public and confidential. In reality, they're public.
The federal government refuses to issue actual public IDs, which would solve the problem nicely, for political reasons. They can't retract Social Security.
That is one reason they're problematic, but not the problem I described. Public IDs would make the problem I am describing worse, as even more businesses would unashamedly ask for them. People's feeling of "oh isn't that private" is one of the few things holding back everyday retail businesses from asking for them.
I don't think it would be any worse than the status quo. Some businesses might not ask for your SSN in particular, but adtech can identify you pretty uniquely regardless. And in the meantime, a million businesses have your sensitive, private SSN, and a relatively high risk of data breach.
For example, even just assigning everybody unique identifiers (social security number, drivers' license number) has allowed businesses to demand these identifiers to track customers in privately-held surveillance databases. This system has already grown out of control with little sign of stopping.
A "secure" e-signature token would lead to even more businesses demanding your "identity". Imagine having to pay twice as much for groceries for wanting to keep your purchases personal!
I'd much rather suffer the small work of (print, sign, scan, cache, burn) until I see some reigning in of private surveillance databases.