Downing Street ‘exploring plan for digital ID cards’
Downing Street ‘exploring plan for digital ID cards’
The ID card would be stored on a smartphone and linked to government records, according to think tank proposals
The ID card would be stored on a smartphone and linked to government records, according to think tank proposals
Oh it's that time of the year again, where they start talking about governmental ID cards for the 57th time.
It's almost as if the people making these decisions have never heard of compromised devices. Either that, or they're happy to have someone steal all your data and don't care.
After much thought I feel ID cards have their place, we kind of have them now as places expect you to have a drivers licence or passport to prove ID or age. My problem with digital is that it isn't necessarily secure and by the time it's been done it'll be significantly over budget.
What about people without smartphones? - they do exist, and this scheme will risk marginalising some of them.
I think the scheme needs careful thought. One ID which the different organisations can scan to get data relevant to their needs only. NHS, tax, proof of age, proof of address, national insurance etc. If the card was sufficiently smart it could hold emergency data, allergies/ health issues, next of kin etc.
I'm comfortably into my second half century. In time I'll give up on passports and driving licences. I'll probably give up on smartphones as well (the screen's too small to see easily already). What then? I won't be able to prove my existence via the accepted means. I worry that the digital destitution will lead to physical destitution and isn't something I look forward to.
Digital isn't a panacea.
A physical ID card backed up with appropriately integrated government services rolling out over time would get my vote, but I'm confident it won't happen.
My worry about this idea is that it would be a requirement for you to have the ID on you at all times. I hate the thought that you basically have to have your id on you wherever you go just in case the police stop you. I know realistically you're likely to have your phone on you anyway but still.
If it's also a requirement, would the government have a scheme to help people buy a phone if they can't afford one?
And a scheme to charge the phone, and a scheme to replace your phone if you drop it, and a scheme to criminalise you if you forget your phone at your mates or down the pub.
This scheme is an authoritarian over reach into day to day life.
You will need an id on you everywhere to prove you're not an illegal immigrant
They keep trying this every few years.
This ain't going to work unless it's sold to the public like Estonia's X-Road:
Complete digitisation of government, using the NHS, passport application, driving, taxes, etc. to reduce cost overheads and speed up government services. It needs to be a properly implemented super app with best industry security practices. I'd even go so far as to make it open source and have UK developers who log contributions to the project get a tax rebate according to hours/lines contributed as a sort of payment.
Plus it would help sell UK digital services abroad by developing and advertising a local talent pool.
Getting the UK public to be on board with just a digital ID isn't going to fly. Why when your driving licence/learners license or passport is already being used as an ID that people carry around, and then you have your NHS number, your national insurance number, and even a gov.uk account.
What the point of adding another one?!
That's the problem with the ID card idea, it doesn't solve a problem. Obviously it proves who you are, but there are so many other documents that are already needed that also do that there's no point.
If we got rid of driving licences and just had an ID card that everyone had, and then when you got a licence it just got added as information onto the card, then they would have a point. But that isn't what they're proposing, they're proposing a second card that does the exact same job as the driving licence that I'm already required to carry.
You’re not required to carry your driving license, though. You only need to present it at a police station within 7 days of being stopped if asked.
The way I could see this being useful would be a version of the driving license we already have, but with no entitlements to drive on the back for people who don’t. No other changes.
Getting the UK public to be on board with just a digital ID isn't going to fly
They're selling it as a tool to fight illegal immigration, so I suspect it'll go down well with the public.
Which will be met with the response "but I'm not an 'immigrant' why should I have to carry this ID card?!"
'I'm not an immigrant' is their code for "I'm white".
As much as xenophobic cunts fantasise the idea of stricter border controls and US-ICE style raids, they're also the same cunts that complain about long queues at airport security and HATE it when an authority figure questions them or forces them to do something.
Tony Blair goes to bed clutching his driving license every night, but wishes it could be so much more. When he dreams, he dreams of a beautiful world of compulsory ID cards. When he wakes up, he remembers "ID cards are the answer!", but seems to have forgotten the question.
Who funds the Tony Blair Institute again? Oh, it's Oracle. Now, I wonder who would be administering the scheme.
I do think it is possible to implement ID cards in a way that respects democracy and privacy of its citizens. Unfortunately, knowing the record of our government with both parties in power, I just know it will be implemented in the worst possible way. Therefore, I think we should steer clear completely.
Do you think the government will get these questions right?
- Will this app support old phones that people can't afford or don't want to upgrade?
- What about rooted phones?
- What about phones that don't run Android or iOS?
- Will people have the option of a physical hard copy? Would they have to pay for the privilege?
- Will it be optional (for now...) or forced on everyone? If optional, will some be excluded from many parts of society?
- Will it work offline?
- Will there be numerous bugs that prevent people from proving their right to be here, as there has been with the eVisa scheme?
- Will the amount of data it both collects and provides be the absolute minimum needed to prove your age or right to work?
- Will you have the right to both see, challenge and delete all the data that the government has linked to your ID?
- Will it be available in an open format, so that it is available to all and can be stored and verified using free software?
- Will the government spend money wisely on this project or syphon off millions to corrupt contractors?
- Will people be required to carry it at all times?
- Will storing all this information in a central location make it easy for to illegally share data between departments, as Musk did in the US?
- Will it start off just being used to verify your age and right to work, and gradually expand to all other areas of life including the ability to access content online?
- Will the scheme be administered in such a way, that you would be comfortable with Reform being in control of it?
Ultimately, they are not trying to solve problems, they are deciding they want ID cards, and flailing around trying to find ways to sell it to us.
What if your device gets hacked tho
The new “BritCard” would be used to check on an individual’s right to live and work in Britain, with senior No 10 figures examining the proposal, The Times has reported.
The card, stored on a smartphone, would reportedly be linked to government records and could check entitlements to benefits and monitor welfare fraud.
I'm not against what it's trying to achieve, but will it achieve that and isn't there a less expensive or better way to do it?