Are national ID cards necessary? (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Are national ID cards necessary?

4:20pm Wednesday 3rd September 2008 in Columnists By Chloe Glover

The National Identity Card scheme is a government initiative which will see every British citizen placed on a register and given a national ID card in a bid to “strengthen national security” and to “protect people’s identity”. The register, which will hold biometric information and a ’biographical footprint’ including date of birth etc, is due to be introduced initially in 2009 for foreign nationals and key workers. However, far from being confidently supported by the general public, the scheme is proving to be more controversial than ever, with a 2006 study reporting a 15 per cent drop in support, to 46 per cent.

It has come under fire with accusations that it will compromise individuals’ right to privacy and freedom, an essential factor in any democracy. Opposition groups such as NO2ID and Liberty say that governments should only be given permission to curtail these rights in “very limited and important” situations, where the need is absolute.

Furthermore, NO2ID suggests that “it is not a proper function of government to engage in blanket surveillance of law-abiding citizens; to open a file on each citizen; or to criminalise citizens who refuse to comply” with such a scheme on the basis that it is intrusive and unjust.

Under the Identity Card Act 2006, citizens will be subject to fines of £1,000 for failure to inform the Government of changes of personal details while those who do not report lost or stolen cards or refuse to register will be at risk of prison sentences of up to 51 weeks.

The Government says the National Identity register will be invaluable as it will reduce identity theft by securing our identities with biometrics. However, this theory is questioned by security experts who argue the technology is too unreliable and easily circumnavigated by identity fraudsters. Just recently, a report by The Times (August 6, 2008) revealed the successful production of ID microchip clones. Looking at the Government’s track record, centralizing data storage is a recipe for losing millions of people’s data.

The predicted cost of the ID card scheme is around £18 billion – a huge drain on public spending funds. On a commercial level, it will not be economically-viable as it has too many flaws and will not offer adequate protection to ensure a reduction in identity fraud and improvement in national security. The introduction of the scheme bears the risk of increasing discrimination. It has already been shown that the fingerprint scanners essential for securing the scheme don’t work as well on the elderly.

The Government believes that the National Identity Register will also reduce illegal immigration to the UK, yet this will not be the case as most illegal immigrants work in the black economy where ID is not needed. The truth seems that spending the £18bn on other measures might better solve any problems we face.

Just because some countries have implemented an ID card scheme, should we automatically comply? Many countries seems to get on fine without them, and haven’t we until now?

Growing opposition towards the Identity Card Scheme from people across the political spectrum suggests that it is no longer wanted. It seems that the public’s voice bears no mark on Government decisions, something that undermines the very principle of democracy we seek to protect.