The Liberty Alliance Project was formed in September 2001 to establish an open standard for federated network identity. The Alliance has stated this will be accomplished by developing technical specifications that support a broad range of identity-based products and network devices. It is a consortium of more than 150 technology and consumer organizations working together towards this common goal.

Why Do We Need Liberty?

Federated identity is a technology and business issue affecting practically every industry. Both businesses and consumers want the convenience and cost-savings of conducting transactions online and through mobile networks. However, businesses responsible for implementing and supporting these services are now experiencing barriers impeding growth in this area.

For example, [currently,] businesses have heterogeneous and often non-interoperable systems among each other and even within their own organizations. This translates into users being required to register separate accounts and maintain their personal information across isolated sites and systems. Connecting these systems is expensive, painful, slow, and in some cases, impossible. This results in lost revenue for businesses, decreased security and frustration for users. Federated identity can solve these challenges.

The Liberty Alliance's vision is to enable a networked world in which individuals and businesses can more easily conduct transactions while protecting the privacy and security of identity information. Liberty's open federated identity standard and business guidance will create the flexible, secure and open infrastructure that is required to support and manage these online services and transactions.