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Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

reuters.com

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Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#421

Post by vixen99 »

amenhotep wrote: post #370
scott_w wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding is that it makes checking job eligibility easier, so enforcement of non compliance is easier. A big source of illegal immigration is visa overstay ( https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/un... ), which ID can solve by tracking the visa status. There are benefits to UK citizens, such as being easier to open a bank account and to comply with Voter ID laws.

What a lovely framing that is. Since time immemorial our right to vote without having to present papers was prized and protected and caused no appreciable problems whatsoever. Then, finally, in one of these inevitable spasms of authoritarianism, they do away with it and we're now turned away from the polling station unless we can show our permission slip. Then they come up with even more papers for us, and the argume…

Only a day or two since this was announced and a petition against ID Cards has already reached 1 million - way beyond the 100,000 required for a Parliamentary Debate. I wonder what the petition's growth rate will be over the next couple of weeks or so.

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#422

Post by AlecSchueler »

ghusto wrote: post #393
gargan wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the opposite of what you say. Proportional representation isn't accountable because you don't know what coalition you're voting for - coalitions are done in backrooms after the election. Winner takes all is more accountable because the coalitions are done before the election (aka political parties). Parties are made up of different factions and they're agreed before the election.

I think he's right, actually. It rings true with what we see here in the Netherlands. People don't feel like they're "throwing their vote away" if they vote for a minor party, so politicians can't have a laid back attitude.

Yep and the coalitions are famous for exemplifying the concept of "poldering:" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_model

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#423

Post by lotsoweiners »

logicchains wrote: post #419
a022311 wrote: post #402

The same thing is happening in Greece. The new mandatory digital ID replaces and unifies everything about citizens in one place, "to make it easier for government services to share information between each other". It can indeed be useful, but the privacy implications are enormous. Just imagine that a policeman, employer or anybody else with access to the information linked to the ID can instantly view our medical rec…

>The worst part is that we no longer have any power to do something about it. That's not true. If a large enough mob of citizens went to the capital, burned down the government building and harassed MPs on the street (and followed them to their homes), as recently happened in Nepal and before that in Bangladesh, things would change very quickly.

Exactly! Creativity is dead to so many people.

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#425

Post by vixen99 »

https://www.ft.com/content/b8c02080-a290-4af7-9702-03230aa9c...

"Hackers obtained the details of tens of millions of British voters in a “complex cyber attack” on the Electoral Commission that went undetected for more than a year, the elections watchdog admitted on Tuesday. The body said “hostile actors” first breached its network in August 2021, gaining access to its file-sharing and email systems and obtaining copies of the electoral register, but “suspicious activity” was not identified until October 2022."

Of course such a thing will never happen in relation to Digital ID Cards, will it?

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#426

Post by ris »

HankStallone wrote: post #413
JetSetIlly wrote: post #406

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the most alarming aspect of the proposal to me. I find it wild that the government will require me, by law, to buy an expensive electronic device I don't want or otherwise need, in order to be employed. It's absolutely amazing to me that the government is forcing me to spend money in this way.

My government requires me, by law, to send it tens of thousands of dollars every year, much of it to be spent on things I don't want or need, in order to stay out of prison. Requiring me to spend another $100 or so on a phone seems like pretty small potatoes, compared to what they intend to use the device for. I'm not saying I'd like it, but it's a detail, not the main issue.

> My government requires me, by law, to send it tens of thousands of dollars every year

That's only because you have those tens of thousands to give it. The same will not generally be true for people who have nothing.

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#427

Post by Retr0id »

paperpunk wrote: post #211
zahllos wrote: post #187

One of my concerns with this is the assumption that every adult has a suitable smartphone. Do the government plan to hand them out?

From the linked page: > In designing the digital ID scheme, the government will ensure that it works for those who aren’t able to use a smartphone, with inclusion at the heart of its design.

I guess the alternative will just be username and password entered into some online portal?

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#428

Post by galangalalgol »

ghusto wrote: post #393
gargan wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the opposite of what you say. Proportional representation isn't accountable because you don't know what coalition you're voting for - coalitions are done in backrooms after the election. Winner takes all is more accountable because the coalitions are done before the election (aka political parties). Parties are made up of different factions and they're agreed before the election.

I think he's right, actually. It rings true with what we see here in the Netherlands. People don't feel like they're "throwing their vote away" if they vote for a minor party, so politicians can't have a laid back attitude.

There are efforts to make this happen in the us starting locally and working up. The states are left to decide how they implement elections on their own with a couple of exceptions. There is a tragedy of the commons aspect to it though, as if some states adopt proportional representation but not others the ones that do not adopt it gain advantage. Ranked choice voting is taking hold much faster than pr in the us, and it is pretty slow too. It can happen though. Both are viewed as being left leaning, which doesn't really make sense to me.

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#429

Post by bArray »

ktosobcy wrote: post #416

UK's (and USA's) aversion to state ID is quite amusing... and then solving everything that not-having-national-ID causes requires absurd solutions... but hey "ID is the worst thing ever"

In the UK, the individual never used to interact with their government at all. We value our privacy and lack of government interference, and everything was legal unless it was explicitly outlined as illegal. It was a high trust society.

Since being forced into globalisation and the concept of a border being essentially abolished (of course unless you talk about Ukraine, in which case billions can be spent on enforcing it), everything is flipped on its head. The terrorism act means that you have no right to silence, no right to legal representation and you are compelled to provide your passwords. The government now gets further and further involved with private matters, such as what content you engage with online (online safety act) and have plans to force ID to be linked to social media.

In my area, you cannot walk into a GP and request an appointment, they tell you to go away. You have to install an app, link it to your details, provide evidence of who you are, go on video, wait a few days, and then you are allowed to request an appointment (in a few weeks time). Bare in mind that healthcare is denied to nobody in the UK.

This year the Legal Aid Agency had a large cyber security breach [1]. People's names, financial information, and the fact that they apply for legal aid was breached. One of the few reasons you can get Legal Aid is being a domestic abuse victim.

> This data may have included contact details and addresses of applicants, their dates of birth, national ID numbers, criminal history, employment status and financial data such as contribution amounts, debts and payments. In some instances, information about the partners of legal aid applicants may be included in the compromised data.

This same government wants to collect and centralise the private details of all citizens in the UK. It makes me sick.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/legal-aid-agency-data-bre...

Re: Britain to introduce compulsory digital ID for workers

#430

Post by DangitBobby »

ruszki wrote: post #389
pjc50 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yet. This slope looks very slippery in the year of the Online Safety Act.

With your logic, everything can be used, or change to be used in a bad way, so nothing should be changed. There is never a guarantee. Seriously, is there anything which cannot be changed to be shit, in the best case to be a worthless money pit? Edit: btw this proposal already has something which can be criticised: ID on mobile phones… so probably they’d lock everybody into a duopoly.

You're arguing that the installation of a literal surveillance apparatus should be tolerated because technology can almost always be used for evil.
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