I would not resist a mandatory digital ID card. It is normal in Europe. I am concerned about whether the Labour Party can introduce it successfully. I would support a voluntary scheme to start with. I think that if people find it convenient and if it is managed competently then it will be accepted by everyone. –Simon Holledge
Members of the government and supportive political pundits keep referring to Estonia as an example of how a digital ID system can work. As it happens, I worked in Tallinn for five years, and the key thing that I'm not seeing in the UK proposals is the transparency that's built into the Estonian model.
Estonians can log in online and see which authorities have been looking at or using their personal data, which is both a powerful freedom post-communism and a practical deterrent (i.e. if you can see an authority is looking at your data, you're more likely to conform – a bit like speeding cameras). Before I support digital ID in the UK, I want to see proper safeguards in place, to promote transparency so that we don't end up in a surveillance society with no controls other than those exercised by faceless government officers and politicians (e.g. who goes where, who accesses services etc), and protect our data from theft and abuse. –Nick
As someone who has lived and worked in Italy for much of the past decade, I have got used to carrying ID – and rejoiced in the ease with which my carta di soggiorno gets me through immigration on my frequent trips to the EU. So, I don't respond with a knee-jerk 'No' to the proposal to introduce ID cards to the UK. I do, however, have serious reservations about the kind of digital ID proposed by the PM in his speech. This seems in my view likely to produce the same unwanted consequences that were summarised yesterday by a friend on Facebook:
"So in theory making every single person hold a digital ID card will… stop illegal workers? So, if Mr Kebab Shop Owner pays someone he already knows is Mr Illegal Worker £20 in cash to work for a day, no contract, a digital ID card will stop… what?
"And what about some very elderly people, or people with a learning disability etc, who don't have a smartphone? And if your phone runs out of charge, what do you do? And if someone steals your phone?
"Who gets all this data about you; everything you buy, everything you do, everywhere you go? What happens when it gets hacked, which with modern hackers should take a matter of weeks...? Who put this in their manifesto, and who voted for it?"
Given the way in which Vladimir Putin has been, quite literally, testing the waters around the UK with his super-surveillance ship Yantar (as detailed in a recent Financial Times report, 'The Russian spy ship stalking Europe's subsea cables'), it could open a whole new dimension to Russian interference in the life of the UK. –Tony Dickinson
Many of the Windrush generation lost their jobs because they couldn't prove their immigration status. I can just imagine people losing jobs because their digital ID either hasn't been processed in time or because of some lack of documentation or unexpected irregularity. Also, if all one has to do is show someone their ID on their phone, surely it would be incredibly easy to fake. –John
I live in Denmark, but am Scottish by birth and ancestry. In Denmark, all residents and citizens have an ID card, but they also nearly all trust their governments, which are elected by proportional representation, which also forces them into coalitions and dialogue. Danes and residents also trust the banks. There is one huge benefit in that all data for healthcare, etc, can be shared between patients and public health professionals, and in other important areas like driver's licenses, online banking, and commerce.
In short, it works well in the Nordic countries, under their political systems. It will not work in the UK or the US, because the political conditions are not right for it. Moreover, a Westminster government has no right to impose a 'Britcard' on the devolved nations. If Scots, for example, want an ID card, they would call it a Scotcard, or similar. They might do so if they trust their devolved government or when they become independent from Westminster. –John
To receive our weekly poll and have your say, sign up for our newsletter here.
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário