Tony Blair's failed Digital ID is coming back. Is it a "cynical ploy" to gather more data on citizens?
Digital ID is a scheme that Big Brother Watch has been decrying for a while now. The basic premise is for all adults to carry on their smartphones a form of digital ID, that can be used for checking right to work and live in the UK - as the BBC put it "Reports have suggested the government plans to use a new scheme to check people's right to live and work in the UK, with people's individual ID checked against a central database."
Tony Blair's think tank wants Digital ID to:
Digital ID will be a super app that does everything according to Sir Tony "Weapons of Mass Destruction In Iraq" Blair, which sounds quite similar to WeChat which is China's state adjacent sensorship and surveillance app. The think tank openly says "If we used the potential of facial recognition, data and DNA, we would cut crime rates by not small but game-changing margins", because of this it is clear that the application will be used to harvest user data an industrial scale, this also implies the intent to track users, and associate them with other databases.
As far as mass surveillance goes, this is the crown jewel. A central ID system that is used everywhere will allow the government to track any citizen as they make any interaction with the state. It is likely that it will become the prefered method of ID for bars, nightclubs, rental, etc... The state will have unfettered access to every faceit of your life. Who you rent with, who you work for, your medical data (see Palantir's NHS contract which is mostly redacted), which services you use, when, where, and how.
It is true that the state already has access to a lot of data about citizens, however it is fragmented, stored in terrible systems made by consultants and cannot easily be searched. Centralising the data will provide a way for the state to peer into any and everything at will. Given that every passport holder already has had their face scanned, and the police already have capability to use facial recognition, it is not unlikely that one day the police will use Digital ID facial recognition to help scan for more targets to arrest.
Lastly, installing an app from the government that openly says it wants to spy on people is likely a terrible idea - the app may have lots of nasty features that the user cannot see, it might take location data, contact data, phone call data, read text messages, see what is installed on your phone, read network traffic, etc... Israeli spyware is invisible on phones and does all of this, the UK Government borrowing this tech to let its police gang stalk journalists and anyone else they don't like is a possibility, and when the app is compulsory it is makes it harder to stay safe.
Any central database is the go to target for a state actor. If Digital IDs database was every targetted then all of the services that rely on it will be affected causing billions of economic damage. Given the UK Government's track record of keeping data unsecure (see Afghan data breach 1 and Afghan data breach 2) it is not unlikely that more sensitive data will be stolen.
On the plus side, it may be that Digital ID can be used to verify your age on websites (to appease The Online Safety Act) which would help to keep your data more secure by not sending data to American companies with rather lack-luster privacy policies. Although you may not want to do use a Digital ID to watch pornographic material as it will let the government know you like to watch filth.
As is the normal these days, being blind, deaf, homeless, having learning disabilities, or having issues using computers/phones is not something that the state cares about. It is very likely to leave people who cannot use technology as well as others behind.
There is currently a claim that there will be an alternative for people who cannot access digital services, how that would work is a mystery to me.
The state is obliged to consider disabled people with this policy due to The UK Equality Act 2010, although making a good solution for these people will involve them being involed in the consultation process before the bill is taken to Parliament.
I, like 774,330 others at the time of writing, oppose the concept of Digital ID as I see it as state overreach, that will lead to more mass surveillance. I am also deeply concerned about it blocking people access to public services, and find the idea of it being mandatory worrying. If you agree then you can sign the petition on The Parliament petitions website.
I will also add that Tony Blair wants to get his blood ridden finders involved in Gaza, and that politics have taken a nasty turn lately, with everything become far more toxic, and divided.
All opinions expressed are those of Danny Piper, sometimes he might make a joke or do a satire.