Why does everyone seem to be against Identity cards?

Question

If youve got nothing to hide, whats the problem? Identity cards used to be in this country and it is a requirement in a lot of countries so whats the big problem?

Are you for or against? Why?

Answer 1

Many feel that it would be an invasion of privacy even if you have nothing to hide, although I think the ones that scream the loudest in opposition to an ID card are the ones who have something to hide.

When you think about it (at least in the U.S.) you already have Identity cards - where you work. Your Social Security card is an ID card, your driver's license is an ID card. Even a credit card is an ID card.

You can't get away from it.

Answer 2

The problem is that this is supposedly a free country where you can move about freely without let or hindrance. Identity cards carry the implication that you are an illegal resident and therefore are required to show or prove who you are to the relevant authorities. We had identity cards during the war and that was fair enough considering that there may have been German spies about. Identity cards are supposed to protect us from the possibility of terrorists but technology today is such that any identity card can be forged.They are therefore totally ineffective, unfit for purpose as they say and are yet another unnecessary burden of pointless cost on the citizens of this country.
The gun scare some years back was exactly the same. The government clamped down on gun clubs and gun licences in an attempt to control gun related crime. The fact is that this punished law abiding citizens for no worthwhile benefit as it is perfectly easy to buy a gun down the pub to carry out the next armed robbery or drugs gang shooting.
The government do not know what is going on in the streets and always come up with yet another knee jerk idea to, in their eyes, counter the problem whilst at the same time producing more revenue. It is the same with congestion charging on cars - if people are prepared to pay the charge you will not stop the congestion. All it will do is line the coffers of the government. The only way to stop congestion is to physically restrict who enters certain areas but that again takes away our freedom of movement within our own country.

Answer 3

I am against identity cards for the simple reason that British law grants a right to privacy.

I am a law-abiding subject and yet I do not wish to have my details held on a central database. The current government has a poor track record of running large IT projects. This would leave my details vulnerable to hackers. Also, we have no way of telling what a future government may do with my information.

I already have two forms of identification: my driving licence and my passport. Why should I have to pay for another one?

Incidentally, British subjects carried ID cards during WW2 when the threat of spying had to combated. Fair enough. However, British subjects were not required to carry any identification when travelling before WW1. It was enough to simply say 'I am British' and border guards would let you through. That's more like it.

Answer 4

Dude, you have nothing to hide? Would you seriously like me listening into your phone conversations? Or people watching every single thing you do? Know every single item you purchase from Bubble gum to toilet paper, keeping track of your travel habits?

SOME THINGS ARE PERSONAL! - not criminal! Personal things we don't wish to share with the government or even our neighbor, and yes even you have things you don't want your best friend privy too.., and it doesn't have to be criminal.

The government will know much of what you do by your purchases, tracking you when you travel - which would be good if you ran into trouble, would suck if you don't want to be found, just to be by yourself and we all (or most of us) enjoy PRIVACY!

Don't have anything to hide? indeed! Tell it to someone else who might actually believe it. If I wanted people to watch me everywhere I went and watch everything I do and listen to everything I say, I'd have a web-cam tied to my butt every where I went 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If the government could monitor your thoughts and make it illegal to not wear such a monitoring device, they would, and you could take that to the bank.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
Besides the obvious - all this wealth of information from financial to personal makes each and every person vulnerable to HIGH TECH CRIMINALS!
I.D. theft and blackmail will be the trend. This National ID system will not prevent terrorism at all. It might catch some in the process of scheming - but criminal terrorists do not play by the rules. They will pay $$ for other people's ID and forge a card to match.
Keep in mind at some point (the U.N. will insist) that all these nations who use the National I.D. Systems, link up with the International Database.., increasing the violation and misuse of privacy risk.

Paranoia? Not hardly. Thats what they accused people of when the rumors of a National ID card manifesting itself. Even the U.S. government laughingly told citizens that there was no such thing as a national database or National ID card. Today - we see what? And people forget so easily.

Answer 5

Aganist. It's another way for the government to keep track of you. Ok, I carry an id. But I believe that this is just the first step. Soon all your personel information will be on it. It will take the place of money. Which means, if the people in charge don't want you to have money, they could erase your life's savings. I don't mean to be paranoid, but what if the technology failed? Or someone made a mistake? Let us have identity cards, and also money.

Answer 6

EVERYONE are not against them, although I am for one.
How can you tell what information is being held?
Just imagine if they were around in Hitler's day, all your details on a piece of plastic that can be checked on a hand held computer......I doubt the Jews. homosexuals, mentally ill, to name but a few, thought they had something to hide! How much easier it would have been to round them up if they had them.
Also, to the best of my knowledge no other countries are chipped to carry more than address/dob/name.
I have a passport/various credit cards/driving lic./work id/birth cert/........why would I want any more.
It will be no more than ten minutes and you will be able to buy them on the black market..........just like forged passports and all other IDs

Answer 7

It is simply because the intelligence agencies behind are the ones who are manipulative.

Note that it is not the common people who approve and do the high crimes. It is the people on top.

I am not against ID cards. But it is scary of what computer can do. They are now able to embed chips in humans etc etc.

We are afraid of hackers and info thiefs.

One day the world would be at the mercy of one single button, hopefully not from MS.

Answer 8

i find the thought of myself on a big database with my every move being tracked a bit creepy. they want to record your job, everywhere you travel, alot of personal information, its like being micro-chipped. Its part of the general feeling that this is a big brother nation, with the government controlling what you eat, watch, drink, smoke, say... and if people really think its going to prevent crime and immigration problems they're wrong - for everyone who can invent the ultimate security system, 10 more people can find loopholes in it.
Plus think of the cost of the things- our taxes are going to be funding all the technology and you're expected to pay for your own card whether you want one or not
And the details are bound to get onto advertising databases so you'll end up with more "targetted" junk mail than you get already

I can see the positives but I'm not keen on everything I do being on record

Answer 9

what the hell is everyone on about here? .... listening to peoples phone conservations, keeping track of people where they go, they are not going to be gprs activated, wont carry a mini-cam, wont shout out in the middle of the street your name! Are you the same people who are against immigration, against illegals being in the country, forget your human rights, you are not allowed any, us the taxpayer of this once fine country will be bullied into having the ID card, i, personally, have nothing to hide, am not against ID cards, but why oh why should i have to pay for it. If ton and his crones want me to have it , let them pay for it

Answer 10

Surely the powers that be know how easy they will be to fake but even if the cost of supplying them was £50 (which it will not be) then that's £3bn to the the government. Without a lot of bother and riding on the terrorist coattails.They have quite enough info on all of us, in my opinion, too much.