Over 2.7 million signatures couldn’t move the needle on a dystopian plan already set in motion.
KEN MACON
A UK government plan to introduce a nationwide digital identification system is moving ahead, despite a public backlash that saw more than 2.7 million people sign a petition urging its cancellation.
The proposal, first announced by Labour in September, would provide a digital ID to every UK citizen and legal resident aged 16 and above.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed the new system would help strengthen border enforcement and reduce illegal employment, describing the ID, dubbed the “Brit Card,” as a tool to “make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.”
More: Digital ID UK: Starmer’s Expanding Surveillance State
The public response was overwhelmingly opposed. Warnings about centralized data collection, privacy intrusions, and increased state surveillance flooded public discourse.
Descriptions of the proposal ranged from a “dystopian nightmare” to fears of a gateway to “digital control.”
Not long after Labour’s announcement, a petition was created on the official UK Government and Petitions website.
It quickly gathered enough signatures to qualify for parliamentary debate, a 100,000-signature benchmark, and within days surged past two million.
Despite reaching over 2.7 million signatures, the government issued a formal response rejecting the petition and restating its commitment to the scheme.
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According to the response, published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the new ID system is part of Labour’s wider aim to modernize public services.
“We will introduce a digital ID within this Parliament to help tackle illegal migration, make accessing government services easier, and enable wider efficiencies. We will consult on details soon,” the government wrote.
Although a formal consultation process is expected in the coming weeks, involving employers, unions, and civil society organizations, the government made it clear that legislation to support the digital ID system is on the way.
Over time, it is expected to serve as a single access point for government services like benefits, tax records, and other official interactions, potentially eliminating the need for physical documents or multiple logins.
The government’s decision to push ahead with a national digital ID comes in the shadow of the recently enacted Online Safety Act, which has already laid the groundwork for sweeping identity checks across the internet.
That law, marketed as a way to protect children from harmful content, gave regulators broad authority to demand age verification for accessing a wide range of online services.
The result is an emerging digital framework where proving who you are, even just to browse or communicate, is becoming a condition of access.
This article (UK Government Dismisses Public Outcry, Pushes Ahead with Controversial Digital ID Plan) was created and published by Reclaim the Net and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Ken Macon
See Related Article Below
Liz Kendall Handed Doomed Digital ID Brief
GUIDO FAWKES
The government has now responded to the petition against Digital ID. Signatures: 2,763,740…
It says: We are committed to making people’s everyday lives easier and more secure, to putting more control in their hands (including over their own data), and to driving growth through harnessing digital technology. We also want to learn from countries which have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens, in line with our manifesto commitment to modernise government. Countries which have suffered massive data breaches…
Labour Conference proved there was no consensus on how it would be used or anything close to a plan on the policy. Reports suggested that the Home Office wanted no part in it…
The government adds: “By the end of this Parliament, employers will have to check the new digital ID when conducting a ‘right to work’ check. This will help combat criminal gangs who promise access to the UK labour market in order to profit from dangerous and illegal channel crossings.” Non-sequitur…
Curiously the response is provided by DSIT. After the welfare shambles at DWP Liz Kendall has to own this doomed policy…
Read the government’s full reponse below:
“The Government has announced plans to introduce a digital ID system which is fit for the needs of modern Britain. We are committed to making people’s everyday lives easier and more secure, to putting more control in their hands (including over their own data), and to driving growth through harnessing digital technology. We also want to learn from countries which have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens, in line with our manifesto commitment to modernise government.
Currently, when UK citizens and residents use public services, start a new job, or, for example, buy alcohol, they often need to present an assortment of physical documents to prove who they are or things about themselves. This is both bureaucratic for the individual and creates space for abuse and fraud. This includes known issues with illegal working and modern slavery, while the fragmented approach and multiple systems across Government make it difficult for people to access vital services. Further, there are too many people who are excluded, like the 1 in 10 UK adults who don’t have a physical photo ID, so can struggle to prove who they are and access the products and services they are entitled to.
To tackle these interlinked issues, we will introduce a new national digital ID. This is not a card but a new digital identity that will be available for free to all UK citizens and legal residents aged 16 and over (although we will consider through consultation if this should be age 13 and over). Over time, people will be able to use it to seamlessly access a range of public and private sector services, with the aim of making our everyday lives easier and more secure. It will not be compulsory to obtain a digital ID but it will be mandatory for some applications.
For example, the new digital ID will build on GOV.UK One Login and the GOV.UK Wallet to drive the transformation of public services. Over time, this system will allow people to access government services – such as benefits or tax records – without needing to remember multiple logins or provide physical documents. It will significantly streamline interactions with the state, saving time and reducing frustrating paperwork, while also helping to create opportunities for more joined up government services. International examples show how beneficial this can be. For instance, Estonia’s system reportedly saves each citizen hours every month by streamlining unnecessary bureaucracy, and the move to becoming a digital society has saved taxpayer money.
By the end of this Parliament, employers will have to check the new digital ID when conducting a ‘right to work’ check. This will help combat criminal gangs who promise access to the UK labour market in order to profit from dangerous and illegal channel crossings. It will create a fairer system between UK citizens and legal residents, crack down on forged documents, and streamline the process for employers, driving up compliance. Further, it will create business information showing where employers are conducting checks, so driving more targeted action against non-compliant employers.
For clarity, it will not be a criminal offence to not hold a digital ID and police will not be able to demand to see a digital ID as part of a “stop and search.”
Privacy and security will also be central to the digital ID programme. We will follow data protection law and best practice in creating a system which people can rightly put their trust in. People in the UK already know and trust digital credentials held in their phone wallets to use in their everyday lives, from paying for things to storing boarding passes. The new system will be built on similar technology and be your boarding pass to government. Digitally checkable digital credentials are more secure than physical documents which can be lost, copied or forged, and often mean sharing more information than just what is necessary for a given transaction.
The new system will be designed in accordance with the highest security standards to protect against a comprehensive range of threats, including cyber-attacks.We will launch a public consultation in the coming weeks and work closely with employers, trade unions, civil society groups and other stakeholders, to co-design the scheme and ensure it is as secure and inclusive as possible. Following consultation, we will seek to bring forward legislation to underpin this system.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology”
This article (LIZ KENDALL HANDED DOOMED DIGITAL ID BRIEF) was created and published by Guido Fawkes and is republished here under “Fair Use”
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