Last September, for example, Microsoft made a submission to the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, a group looking at ways to improve online safety for children. advocated the replacement of Web user names and passwords with Information Card systems, such as Microsoft's own technology, and calling on a collaboration between government, industry and child development experts to solve the problem.

Microsoft has been working with a number of countries, including Singapore, Belgium, the U.K. and France to develop government-issued digital credentials, Leland said.

In his video, Charney called for a "model where people get in-person proof and then can pass digital identities on the Internet. So, for example, if you got a drivers license or a passport and it also had a digital certificate on it, you could later pass your identity to a site along with your credit card number for example and they would know you are who you claim to be."