Professor Edgar Whitley

Edgar Whitley is a Professor in Practice (Information Systems). He is a leading voice shaping how governments and societies navigate the complexities of digital identity, data and trust in the digital age.

Building on foundational work such as the LSE Identity Project he continues to bridge theory and practice, ensuring research insights inform real-world decisions. Recently, Edgar has contributed to this debate in the UK by giving evidence to the Home Affairs Committee on the current Labour government's plan to roll out a digital identity system, and internationally in speaking with Privacy International on why governments continue to struggle with digital identity.

Edgar has a BSc (Econ) and PhD in Information Systems, both from LSE. He is the Senior Editor for the Journal of Information Technology and is on the editorial review boards for Information Systems Research and the Journal of the Association for Information Systems. In 2025, he was the programme co-chair for the International Conference on Information Systems.

Edgar is a member of the Colleges of Experts for both the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

Edgar is a member of, and faculty group lead for, the Information Systems and Innovation Faculty Research Group.

Expertise

Digital identity, Privacy and data governance

Professor Edgar Whitley’s current research focuses on the intersection of digital identity, data governance and privacy, with particular emphasis on how complex technological systems are shaped by social, institutional and policy contexts.

His work examines the governance of identity systems, the ethical and regulatory challenges of biometric technologies, and broader questions of trust, consent and control in data-driven environments.

Edgar actively engages with this policy-relevant debate through advisory positions across UK government bodies, including the Government Digital Service and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, where he contributes to the development of digital identity standards and national data strategies. His work is also recognised internationally, with advisory positions for governments and global organisations addressing the societal implications of identity systems and data use.

Courses

• MG213: Information Systems (UG)
• MG492: Data Governance: Privacy, Openness and Transparency (PGT)
• MG500: Information Systems PhD Seminar Series and Workshops (PGR)
• MG509: Contemporary Digital Innovation Research (PGR)
• MG5A1: A Social Sciences Perspective of Academic Research in Management (PGR)
• Executive: AI in Management: Transforming Leadership for the Digital Age
• Executive: Data Science and AI for Executives

Supervision

Edgar has successfully supervised eleven PhD students, including four with colleagues in other departments at LSE and is currently supervising two more. He has examined over 30 PhDs at LSE, University of Auckland, Brunel University, University of Edinburgh, IESE, Kings College London, University of Manchester, Nottingham Trent University, Oxford University, University of Pretoria, University of Southampton, University of Sydney, Trinity College Dublin and UCL.

Through sustained collaboration with policymakers, industry stakeholders and public bodies, Professor Whitley contributes to debates that shape how digital infrastructures are designed, regulated and used.

Edgar was the research coordinator of the influential LSE Identity Project on the UK’s proposals to introduce biometric identity cards; proposals that were scrapped following the 2010 General Election. His book with Gus Hosein Global Challenges for Identity Policies was published by Palgrave in 2010 and has provided the academic grounding for subsequent research on digital identity systems around the world. Edgar has also advised governments in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, India, Jamaica, Japan and Mexico about the political, technological and social challenges of effective identity policies. He has contributed to reports for the World Bank, Omidyar Network and Centre for Global Development.

Edgar is an advisory board member for the Ada Lovelace Institute’s Ryder review of Biometric Regulation and an expert advisor for a series of Ada Lovelace Institute reports on technological responses to COVID-19. Edgar is co-chair of the Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group (PCAG) to the Government Digital Service and GOV.UK and a member of the Cabinet Office Digital Economy Act 2017 Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board and the Cabinet Office Digital Economy Act 2017 Public Service Delivery Review Board, as well as a member of the DCMS National Data Strategy Forum. He is an academic member of the DCMS College of Experts. Edgar is also a member of the Scottish Government Digital Identity Scotland Expert Group and the Open Banking Expert Group.

In 2021 Edgar was awarded both an ATLAS Award and an Impact Award by the Association for Information Systems and has previously been awarded the AIS Community Service Award and the AIS Sandra Slaughter Service Award.

Impact Case Studies

Read Edgar’s 2014 Impact Case Study on scrapping costly and controversial proposals for identity cards and his 2021 Impact Case Study on ensuring the fair treatment of Open Banking customers.

Recent lectures and speaking appearances

• Privacy International (2026) Why governments struggle with ID
• LSE Lecture (2025). Digital identity: Reflecting on Twenty Years of the LSE Identity Project
• BBC Radio 4 (2025). The Briefing Room
• Biometric Update (2025). ID Code Of Conduct: The economic impact of ID exclusion launch event
• ID4Africa (2025). The economic costs of identity exclusion: Evidence from across the identity supply chain
• BBC World Service (2024). The History Hour: India’s ambitious ID scheme
• Jam Tomorrow (2023). I.D. Cards: Show me who you are