U.K.'s National ID Card Idea Given The Courtesy Of Debate
from the above-board dept
Yesterday we learned that people in the U.K. are under the mistaken assumption that a national ID card will reduce identity theft. Today we find out who put that idea in their heads: Tony Blair and friends, who have latched on to ID theft as the latest justification for their ID card proposal. They are now floating a bill that is essentially a rehash of failed bills past. It appears critics are jumping all over it again, mainly because of its huge (and growing) cost. A more dubious problem that is getting less attention is that such a centralized system requiring a single piece of identification will probably make identity thieves' lives much easier, rather than harder. But unlike the Real ID Act in the U.S., at least U.K. politicians and the public are debating the issue.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
We Are?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]