Are you happy to have Identity cards?

Question

I am not. I feel its an invasion of privacy. And realistically it will not stop the people we are being told its to stop. Terrorists and illigal immigrants. Its just another 'big brother' facade from the government, to monitor our every move, brought in on the back of a 'terrorist attack', to justify it.
quoted from enlightened godess "...The government has now proved itself to be incapable of protecting the details of the citizens of this country, should we now also launch a country wide campaign against the introduction of Identity cards?" I say YES we should.

Thanks for your replies folks but some of these answers are scary in themselves!
Spock get real, having an identity card doesnt alter the fact that I am a fully contributing member of the taxed of this country, the fact that I dont want the government monitoring my ervery move doesnt lessen my rights as a citizen. what planet are you on today? by the way, enterprise landed yonks ago!
Newgran if that is the case why do you need to be monitored?
Tyrefit you see it as it is.
Randy D get real
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Answer 1

The National ID card scheme in the UK is little more than an open invitation for criminals to steal your identity. With the right software, hackers will be able to crack ID card security in minutes and the wheels are already in motion to enable them to do so.

If the government are as lax with the id card database as they were with the child benefit one, everybody will be at great risk of having their identity stolen and criminals will be able to get access to all your details, accounts, e.t.c, whether they are held on the card or not.

The fact is that even the government are now having second thoughts. Although Gordon Brown himself still seems to favour the idea, I suspect that serious doubts are being expressed by various members of the cabinet.

The government have been twisting themselves into knots trying to justify id cards, and have failed to do so on almost every level. ID cards will do nothing to combat the threat of terrorism, in fact considering the high risk of identity theft they will probably make it easier for terrorists to operate. For similar reasons, ID cards will do nothing to combat benefit fraud and will do nothing to combat illegal immigration.

So it begs the question, what exactly are ID cards for?

The government have already stated that they will sell the data from the national ID database to third party companies in order to pay for the cost of the scheme. So, I suspect the real reason this government has in mind for ID cards is to gather marketing information, so that businesses can inundate us with "targeted" spam and junk mail.

In the future, however, who is to say that an even more unethical government couldn't use ID cards as a very sinister means to limit our freedom and our right to privacy?

The "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" argument does not stand up to close scrutiny. If we have nothing to hide, why would the authorities want to intrude into every aspect of our lives and keep tabs on us all? Honest, upstanding citizens must never be treated like criminals. Besides, it has now become obvious that, whether we have nothing to hide or not, the government cannot be trusted with our personal details.

And to add insult to injury the government wants everyone in the UK to buy their own ID card, at an estimated cost of between £100 and £300 per card. So a family of four might have to shell out as much as £1,200 simply so that the government can keep tabs on them, sell their details in order to target marketing at them and expose them to a high risk identity fraud.

This ridiculous ID card scheme is completely unacceptable and must be opposed at all costs. I refuse to carry an ID card under any circumstances. If we all did the same, the scheme would fall down around the government's ears and they might just see sense. Given the current embarrassment over the lost child benefit records in fact, I'm hoping they will see sense before it comes to that.

Answer 2

I remember the '70's. When the IRA were on the mainland and a hell of a lot more active than todays terrorists!!

There was no call for ID cards to tackle the menace back then - so what has changed??

The introduction of "fear" into any subject is bound to have the desired effect in a land where the population has had it cushy for over 60 years.

I have a passport, a driving licence, National Insurance Number, Inland Revenue Number, Council Tax Bill, Credit cards, a bank account, a birth certificate and a mortgage. What more do I need to prove who I am??

An ID card is exactly that - a piece of card. Not a swipe card containing all your personal details which can be swiped through a machine by anyone with the authority to do so.

The introduction of the word "terrorism" into the argument has had the desired effect on a large percentage of the population who are willing to accept ID cards without argument.

This is simply another spoke in the wheel of total control and surveillance. Another example is monitoring of traffic by the fitting of trackers to all vehicles - a system to which the police will have full access. This was first introduced 4 years ago as an aid to fight terrorism but was rejected as too invasive. Now it has simply been re-introduced under fighting traffic congestion and will no doubt be accepted as a necessary evil.

Use of the "fear factor" in all isuues has allowed this government to undermine the right to privacy and freedom of the population to an alarming extent and they will not be happy until we all have a barcode tattooed on our foreheads.

Answer 3

I would not accept an identity card as I do not trust the government to change the information on it or sell the information to the highest bidder. This government is morally corrupt and is getting worse each year. Once these cards are issued, what is to stop them demanding more and more information ie, medical records, DNA testing which could then be passed onto insurance companies and the like which could affect people's lives in ways not yet thought about.

We have identity in the form of passports/driving licence/student cards etc. We do not need more. This information tells others what they need to know - and not more!

Countries with ID cards have still had attacks ie, Spain - it is another Government excuse. The only good thing - in the government's eyes is that they will raise alot of money with it.

We have all got something to hide - we just might not be aware of it yet. This is a risk too far and must be stopped!

Answer 4

I am entirely opposed to the proposed UK ID card and I shall tell you why.

1. UK.gov insist that when every citizen has a National ID card, it will be much easier to deal with terrorism in UK.

WRONG - every single Spanish citizen who got blown up in the murderous train bombings in Madrid were carrying their faithful Spanish ID cards. These cards did not save one single life.

2. The proposed UK.gov State ID card for UK citizens will not act as a Passport, as is the case with the French ID card where a citizen of France can come to England by simply jumping on the next EuroStar and showing their French ID card on arrivel or noboard the train if asked by the HM Customs.

3. The government's inability to keep control even of it's own documents, proves conlusively that they are not to be trusted with private information about us. Already the private details of 25 million British citizens have been lost/stolen due to the carelessness of UK.gov and it's minions.

I could say more about this...

Answer 5

No, and I shall refuse to have one!!!
They will not prevent terrorism.This is the biggest myth in the book. I think they will lead to higher crime,after all, the black market is always ready to queue for fake ID and passports.Then there is my personal freedom and privacy,in order for ID cards to be effective, they need to be checked and verified against a national computer database containing verified information. The government's track record of managing even small scale computer projects is extremely poor!! Identitiy theft? There is no such thing as a secure online computer database. The only guaranteed safe way of protecting data is not to make it available online.What about the future? Is there worse to come? Because ID cards are destined to fail to provide the level of security that the government is touting and predicting,(that is what we will be told) are ID cards merely a stepping stone to more draconian and Orwellian schemes? Implantable micro-chips? The government can't take huge jumps, purely because the public would see through their motives and agenda. Thus, they have to make little steps at a time.The government would like you to believe that national security and the elimination of terrorism, benefit fraud and other crimes would be dealt with by having ID cards......I believe that's merely a cover story to fool the public. Terrorists aren't deterred by ID cards,in fact, they'll probably be first in the queue to get one. After all, people who actually want ID cards have nothing to hide, have they???
They will also cost us money..They're having a laugh! - but the joke's on us!

Answer 6

No, not ever. I had an ID card when I was a member of HM Forces. That was justified. ID cards for civilians aren't. They'll cost you, and not just financially. All of your information will be stored on them. The main database will duplicate it, and couriers will lose it between one Gov site and the other! The liberty and freedom of this country is being eroded by a power hungry civil service and parliament. They want to record the details of your travel within the UK as well as outside. And sell any revenue generating information to the highest bidder.
They can shove their ID's where the sun will never shine. They do us no favours.
If you care about this subject, join www.no2id.net.
Let's take back the Britain we knew and loved.

Answer 7

No I would not trust this or any other government with the details on them. They may tell us that ID cards are required in European Countries but that is their problem. I am a freeborn Englishman and I know who I am and will tell them if challenged
Both you and I carry enough around to prove out ID from your Bankers card on. We do not need ID cards which ultimately will
be used for population movement control. ie Nazi Germany and occupied countries, USSR there will be others

Answer 8

In Northern Ireland there are two cards One is the driving licence with your photo on it small plastic card the other is the council identity used to vote both are fine cheap not costing an arm and a leg. I would ask do we really need something costing millions. my answer would be no keep it simple If your p to no good and have the money and backing they will find ways round it

Answer 9

I wouldn't care if the government knew almost everything about me, what does it matter? Why should I care? As long as my details aren't given to companies for advertising i.e spam, junk mail, cold calls etc, how does it affect me? It doesn't.
What it does do is make my own personal details much more difficult to replicate and reduces fraud or possible identity theft. If you had to give photographic evidence and fingerprint/retina i.d for simple things like credit cards/bank accounts etc, how can that be forged? I'd have peace of mind if I lost my bank cards they couldn't be used, and that people coming in and out of the country are properly checked, (and stopped) potentially stopping many criminals/terrorists entering our country. Why do we have to wait until a successful terror campaign is launched (already going on) and possibly thousands of people killed before we initiate simple things like i.d cards to help prevent such terrible things? So what, someone at Whitehall knows how much I earn, where I live and what I buy at the supermarket? Not a big deal is it?

Answer 10

I believe identity cards might be useful in many ways but I am concerned that the Government will use them to raise funds.
I would also be worried about some of the information they intend to include on the card and how they could properly control the secretive information held on file. I would be concerned that they would undertake the operation on the cheap and cut corners.