Digital ID Crisis: Total Control vs. Sovereign Access - Linda Jeng & Raido Saar
LINDA JENG, RAIDO SAAR AND HOST JUDITH JUHNKE EXPLORE THE THREE KEY CHALLENGES OF DIGITAL IDENTITY:
1)WHERE TRUST LIVES: IN INSTITUTIONS, IN SYSTEMS, OR IN HUMANS THEMSELVES.
2) WHO CONTROLS IDENTITY: CENTRALIZED, STATE-ISSUED MODELS, OR USER-SOVEREIGN ONES.
3) WHO ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT’S HAPPENING: EXPERTS, BUILDERS, OR EVERYDAY PEOPLE.
The problem is: most current identity systems were designed in a very different internet era. Before AI-enabled fraud. Before digital assets. Before identity became a critical piece of economic participation.
Today, trust is under pressure. Privacy is under pressure. And humans are often stuck in the middle, carrying the risk without having real agency.
Experts Linda Jeng, US and Raido Saar, Estonia discuss with Judith Juhnke the challenges associated with current identification methods, government-issued IDs like driver's licenses, the "phone home feature", self-custody digital ID and key issues like privacy concerns and the role of centralized authorities versus user-governed systems. The episode features insights from industry experts who attended the World Economic Forum and highlights the need for a unified approach to digital identity that combines privacy and compliance to ensure sovereignty.
About both guests:
Linda Jeng
Linda Jeng is Founder and CEO of Digital Self Labs, a regulatory, policy, and technology advisory firm. She is a Visiting Scholar on Financial Technology at Georgetown University Law Center, a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke Law School, and a Research Fellow at the Bank for International Settlements. Her research interests focus on privacy-enhancing technologies and the intersection of disruptive technologies, law, and public policy.
Previously, she held senior roles at the Federal Reserve Board, Financial Stability Board, U.S. Senate, and U.S. Treasury, and served as Chief Global Regulatory Officer and General Counsel of the Crypto Council for Innovation. She has testified before Congress and frequently publishes and comments on fintech and digital-asset regulation. She holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, a D.E.A. from the University of Toulouse, and a B.A. from Duke University.
Connect with Linda:
https://www.digitalselflabs.com [https://www.digitalselflabs.com]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-jeng-4682b3/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-jeng-4682b3/]
https://www.regulations.gov/comment/TREAS-DO-2025-0070-0117 [https://www.regulations.gov/comment/TREAS-DO-2025-0070-0117]
Raido Saar
Raido Saar is a digital-trust and identity expert with deep experience at the intersection of regulation, cybersecurity, and Web3 infrastructure. He began his career with the Estonian Border Guard, where he spent eight years shaping national border and security policies and combating cross-border crime. With a strong legal background, he later became a key bridge between regulators and the emerging crypto industry.
Raido previously served as Partner and Head of AML & Compliance at the cryptocurrency exchange Swapin.com, where he helped design and operate regulatory-grade compliance frameworks. He left the role in 2020 to pursue a broader mission: fixing the broken architecture of digital trust.
Today, Raido is the Founder and CEO of ComplyOnce™, a user-centric compliance and digital-identity infrastructure that replaces password-based onboarding with verified, privacy-preserving identity proofs. ComplyOnce enables secure, scam-resistant login, Strong Customer Authentication, and ongoing compliance without exposing personal data, designed for an AI-driven threat landscape and aligned with emerging EU frameworks such as MiCA and eIDAS2.
In parallel, Raido serves as President of the Estonian Web3 Chamber and Vice President of the European Web3 Organization, actively contributing industry expertise to EU-level policy discussions. A frequent international speaker, he focuses on the future of digital identity, the collapse of legacy login systems under AI-enabled fraud, and why trust infrastructure, not more KYC, is the next frontier for digital services.
Connect with Raido:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/raido-saar-43115b169 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/raido-saar-43115b169 ]
www.complyonce.com [www.complyonce.com]
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Judith Juhnke is founder of "Future Nexus" and coaches, advises, and speaks on “Sovereign Leadership in a non-linear world.”
She hosts the podcast Trust to Disrupt and is co-author of several books, including Atlas der Entscheider (Atlas of Decision Makers) and Leading with Light.
She supports entrepreneurial leaders and architects of new systems in German and English as they develop leadership strength in a NAVI world (non-linear, accelerated, volatile, interconnected).
Her expertise combines more than ten years of corporate experience in sales and business development, including responsibility for a €30 million portfolio.
Today, she helps leaders grow beyond safety zones into visible sovereignty and explores the future of sovereignty and leadership at the intersection of the Digital Euro, cryptocurrencies, and decentralized finance.
Connect with Judith here:
www.judithjuhnke.com [www.judithjuhnke.com]
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judithjuhnke/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/judithjuhnke/]
