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Minority group alert!
Currently, HM Government and the various agencies associated with it are trying to introduce a nationwide, compulsory identity card scheme. They’ve promised the country that, while each person will have to pay for their compulsory card to be issued (anywhere between £95 and £300 depending on who you think is right), their data - including biometrics like iris-scans and fingerprints - will be 100% secure and unauthorised access will be impossible.
Unfortunately, HM Government has proved quite conclusively over the last few weeks that it cannot look after people’s data very well at all. We’ve had around 15 million people with Standard Life pensions have their data lost, then 25 million people who claim child benefit or tax credits (followed by another revelation that HMRC “mislaid” a further six discs of information), up to the latest news that millions of learner drivers have had their data lost - when a hard drive used by a Government contractor was “mislaid” in Iowa. Of course, that one happened back in May but they’ve only just owned up to it.
Which is why I’m declaring myself a Minority Group. As far as I can work out, the recent data losses could theoretically effect almost every household in the UK, possibly more than once. But not me; I’m not learning to drive, I don’t claim child benefit or tax credits and I don’t have a pension with Standard Life. There’s probably about half a dozen of us in the country, so I’m thinking that we should get together and have a New Year Party.
All joking aside, I’ve been against the ID card scheme from the start - mainly because they want to make you pay a huge fee for a card that you don’t have any choice about carrying, but also because I was concerned about the centralisation of so much data. What I was worried about was the data being used by unauthorised agencies to keep tabs on British residents; I realise what I should be worried about is that all of that data will end up being sold on the Internet because HMG have lost it again.
Update: in the comments, Robin has raised an issue about the ID card that I completely failed to touch on - that of security. The big hook that HMG have been hanging this ID card scheme on is that it will stop terrorism; only legitimate, legal citizens will be able to have the cards, so terrorism will stop overnight. What no-one from the Government seems to have noticed is that terrorists can be home-grown - the Madrid bombers were all card-carrying Spainish citizens. How does an ID card stop them? As Robin asks will the Government “make it compulsory to show the card whilst committing an offence?”
Comments
One Response to “Minority group alert!”
I think you know what to do....
Wolfs Stuff
Wolfs Helpers
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Quite apart from the security implications for individuals, what is the ID card scheme actually supposed to achieve anyway? What terrorist is going to be stopped by having to show a card of him or herself? And how will anyone know who to ask anyway? Or maybe the government will also make it compulsory to show the card whilst committing an offence…