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UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

petition.parliament.uk

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Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#61

Post by earthnail »

dalke wrote: post #15
dijit wrote: post #3

As well as the Estonia eID system works (aside from that time it got hacked[0] and that other time they leaked all the photos[1]) and how well a digital (non-government) system works in Scandinavia… I have to say… As a Dual British/Swedish Citizen, I really do not trust the UK government. They have proven over and over and over, that at every opportunity presented they will increase their own authority. I don’t belie…

The Swedish non-government system (BankID) doesn't work well for me. My Swedish identity must not be dependent on the permission of a US company nor the US government, while BankID requires both. So far my BankID boycott is over a year old, and my resolve grows as I read more of the news.

I once had my bank close my account because of a mistake they made (I can provide the background but it’s just a facepalming story). That meant my Bank ID was closed down, too.

I asked for an appointment with the bank to resolve it but was told I can only get an appointment with Bank ID.

It was outrageous. Obviously none of the other services worked either. Luckily I still had a British and a German credit card that I used for payments (since I lived in both those countries before). In the end I opened an account with another bank and moved on. Although I did try, furiously, for two weeks to get my old bank to admit their mistake and rectify it. No chance. If they had admitted it it would’ve meant they would have broken financial regulation, and obviously you don’t admit to that if you don’t have to.

Bank ID is great when it works and brutal when it doesn’t.

I actually don’t have a better proposal for a system since it works quite well in most cases, but just wanted to share my bad experience on it too.

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#62

Post by owisd »

cortic wrote: post #29
n4r9 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much you're loading into "simply practicing free speech".

It is a criminal offense in the UK to use insulting words in public, or to send any message online that anyone could find insulting or offensive (whether any one does or not is irreverent). The Online Safety Act and Hate Crime Provision have extended these somewhat into the realms of 1984. But the police do tend to use them sparingly.

There's no value in making insults for the sake of being insulting protected speech, but in the UK if you're making ECHR Article 10 protected speech that someone happens to find insulting or offensive then that's not a crime. It's unhelpful to permit insults as free speech to prevent some hypothetical future abuse, since all modern dictatorships pay lip service to free speech and instead lock up their political opponents for embezzlement or mortgage fraud or whatever.

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#63

Post by dazc »

uyzstvqs wrote: post #57

We need to clearly define some stuff around Digital ID, since people seem to be using the term for distinctly different things. There's (1) eGovernment platforms, where you can handle government-related business online using a login. There's (2) Digital ID cards, where you can use your phone in place of a physical ID or drivers license in real life. And then there's (3) full EU-proposed-style Digital ID, where govern…

"This appears to be about (2), with the catch of it being made mandatory for anyone who wants to be employed in the UK."

For people who are already working illegally, or plan to, it would change nothing, as they could dodge any checks by sub-contracting through someone who seems to be legally employed.

The government cannot be so daft as to ignore how much illegal work happens this way, so there has to be some larger scheme at play here.

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#65

Post by VBprogrammer »

dmazin wrote: post #24

The thing that frustrates me the most about digital ID cards is not themselves on merit but rather modern Labour's political abilities. Like, the UK economy is stagnant, there is a cost-of-living crisis, and Labour needs to present the public with an alternative to Farage. And the answer is... digital ID cards?

Completely agree. I'm not too bothered Digital ID cards, I was mildly annoyed by the idea of actual ID cards (manly the cost) but as a free digital app, I don't have many objections. I've seen it from colleagues in Denmark. If they manage to build in some zero knowledge proof of age I might even support it.

But how this is supposed to stop immigration, illegal or otherwise, is beyond me.

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#66

Post by seabass-labrax »

raesene9 wrote: post #16
dijit wrote: post #3

As well as the Estonia eID system works (aside from that time it got hacked[0] and that other time they leaked all the photos[1]) and how well a digital (non-government) system works in Scandinavia… I have to say… As a Dual British/Swedish Citizen, I really do not trust the UK government. They have proven over and over and over, that at every opportunity presented they will increase their own authority. I don’t belie…

The thing is, to me, the powers of the government to require more identification for different things is orthogonal to the idea of digital ID. We already have to identify ourselves in a variety of circumstances (e.g. mortgages, bank accounts, voting, using "adult" websites etc), and the gov. can get the information from various third parties on demand already. Implementing those requirements didn't depend on there be…

> ...powers of the government to require more identification for different things is orthogonal to the idea of digital ID > That's not to say there aren't risks of course, but other European countries seem to have managed to implement these systems without becoming totalitarian police states :)

Yet also: a country's requirement for identification is orthogonal to it becoming a totalitarian police state.

In British politics, there is a strong current of opposition to international institutions and treaties such as the European Convention on Human Rights[1][2] and the International Criminal Court[3]. The UK's commitment to human rights is enough in doubt that one encounters situations such as German courts being unable to extradite a suspected criminal because of the poor treatment of prisoners in Britain[4].

Countries like Germany and Belgium are able to have mandatory ID cards without too much issue because of characteristics including their written (and actively litigated) constitutions, judicial independence and proportionally representative election systems. ID cards might be make them lean more or less totalitarian - but it doesn't matter as much, as the rules about identification make up only a small part of a huge and robust framework of law and human rights.

With few constitutional protections for UK citizens, and what independent institutions there are under constant attack from various political parties, I don't think those who object to digital ID can be blamed for being suspicious of the government's motivations.

[1]: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/25/tory-candid...

[2]: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/08/21/labour-mp-eu...

[3]: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/3/threats-and-intimida...

[4]: https://eucrim.eu/news/german-court-denies-extradition-to-uk...

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#67

Post by mhh__ »

poszlem wrote: post #23
AJRF wrote: post #21

The labour government can not be challenged in any serious way until the next election in 4 years. Petitions don't really do anything, they will just say "no" to what the people ask for and move on with their agenda. It is disheartening to see this country follow the same path the US took, it seems as our politics become more polarised, the team sports aspect means we start seeing parties push through agendas while p…

The most cynical part is that Labour spent years accusing the Tories of wanting to do this, then introduced it themselves, dressed up as a way to cut migration. And now, if you oppose the ID, they smear you as being pro–illegal immigration. This is some very impressive politicking and exactly why many people don't trust the mainstream political parties.

The immigration angle is a total fraud. If they wanted to do any of the things being implied they could have done so ages ago, they don't care. it's true that the ease of accessing the grey economy is a pull to the country but you can just... not let them in.

edit: an interesting example of this that I find quite fascinating is that the amount of automation in things like car washing is declining because the automatic ones are being undercut by quasi unregulated alternatives that don't clean up the chemicals properly and so on

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#68

Post by mhh__ »

SilverElfin wrote: post #2

After seeing NUMEROUS video of UK police showing up at doorsteps like the gestapo, arresting or citing or intimidating people who are simply practicing free speech, I don’t think anyone should support the government with a pathway to de-anonymize the web. Even if you support the current government, such powers will be used against you at some point.

Tweets - prison

Assaulting and trying to stab a man burning a Quran - Suspended sentence

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8xr12yx5l4o watch the video and tell me this man should be A) not in prison and B) in the country after said prison sentence

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#69

Post by raesene9 »

seabass-labrax wrote: post #66
raesene9 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing is, to me, the powers of the government to require more identification for different things is orthogonal to the idea of digital ID. We already have to identify ourselves in a variety of circumstances (e.g. mortgages, bank accounts, voting, using "adult" websites etc), and the gov. can get the information from various third parties on demand already. Implementing those requirements didn't depend on there be…

> ...powers of the government to require more identification for different things is orthogonal to the idea of digital ID > That's not to say there aren't risks of course, but other European countries seem to have managed to implement these systems without becoming totalitarian police states :) Yet also: a country's requirement for identification is orthogonal to it becoming a totalitarian police state. In British po…

Yeah i don’t disagree about the UK government tendencies, my point is more that they can be authoritarian without digital id and our current systems are not fit for purpose and a digital ID can help people who have problems fitting in with current system requirements like passports and drivers licenses which are not free or universal.

Re: UK Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

#70

Post by bossyTeacher »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #65
dmazin wrote: post #24

The thing that frustrates me the most about digital ID cards is not themselves on merit but rather modern Labour's political abilities. Like, the UK economy is stagnant, there is a cost-of-living crisis, and Labour needs to present the public with an alternative to Farage. And the answer is... digital ID cards?

Completely agree. I'm not too bothered Digital ID cards, I was mildly annoyed by the idea of actual ID cards (manly the cost) but as a free digital app, I don't have many objections. I've seen it from colleagues in Denmark. If they manage to build in some zero knowledge proof of age I might even support it. But how this is supposed to stop immigration, illegal or otherwise, is beyond me.

I think about 90% of immigration to UK is legal so it won't. Seems like a huge expense when money is really tight
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