4 ms·

The whole thing is completely mad, you need to show your passport to an employer or otherwise prove your identity before starting any job already… so what is th

by andy_ppp 11mo ago

The whole thing is completely mad, you need to show your passport to an employer or otherwise prove your identity before starting any job already… so what is this weird desire to completely track people really about? I honestly don’t understand what the perceived advantages for the government are? The UK is probably one of the most surveilled countries in the world already.

IanCal 11mo ago
No you don’t. A birth certificate can be used for example along with a letter from a government agency. Also expired passports are fine.
michaelt 11mo ago
Let's quote the godfather of British ID cards, Tony Blair:- > Why is TikTok so successful? Because its algorithms establish your personal preferences so quickly and satisfy them with their content. How do they do that? By accumulating your data and using the services of a huge number of computer engineers to make those algorithms so effective. [...] > Imagine that all your health information was in one place: easy, with your permission, for anyone anywhere in the health service to see. That your passport, driving licence, anything you need to prove your identity, were in one simple digital wallet, unique to you. That you could purchase and pay for any goods or services using your digital ID. https://institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/tony-blair-digital-id-is-the-disruption-the-uk-desperately-needs https://institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/to... So the proposal isn't just a mandatory ID card - it's also the unification of all government databases. Combining tax records, driving licenses, passports, NHS records, benefits, vehicle registration, the ability to get a job, the ability to rent a house and the ability to get a bank account into one unified super-database (with an app) The ID being fully digital will also be a boon for the financial services industry. Today banks extending large loans can afford to check people's documents properly even if it takes a few days and a visit to a bank branch. But what payday loan companies that want to loan someone £15 for a takeaway curry on sunday evening? They don't have the margin, the time or the physical presence to check IDs properly, and often lose money to fraud because of it.
- andy_ppp 11mo ago
  Why do governments think IT projects like this are even possible for them to accomplish? I can guarantee already the requirements of such a system are impossible to capture and then the developers and difficulty to build such a system with probably a thousand or more people working on it for 10 years and billions we can’t currently afford. I predict endless delays, a toxic work environment and the resulting system will not even end up working and will eventually be scrapped probably in favour of smashing everyone’s data into an LLM. Sigh.
  - adammarples 11mo ago
    Because it has been accomplished already in many countries
    - andy_ppp 11mo ago
      A mandatory ID system is not the same as a unified system for all government data which is the suggested real plan
- dijit 11mo ago
  I always bring it up in these threads, but as a dual british/swedish citizen I find it incredulous. Sweden has a national database and a national ID card system, and it makes my life in Sweden a lot better. That said, I don’t trust the UK government, I haven’t trusted any UK government in my adult lifetime and I am coming into middle-age. Solve that problem first, maybe?
  - nialv7 11mo ago
    I am indifferent to having/not having a government ID. But I just find it incredibly stupid for the government to introduce it now given the current political atmosphere.
    - dijit 11mo ago
      Have you got a license for that opinion? (I agree with you)
Traubenfuchs 11mo ago
Follow the money. Someone will get a lot of money to implement and maintain this system.
- Nextgrid 11mo ago
  Someone will get a lot of money* *implementation and maintenance optional and may be subject to additional fees
pessimizer 11mo ago
For me, the real question is why all these neolib governments are insisting on - spending all their political capital on - these things that have no constituency demanding them? The only people telling UK citizens that they suddenly need digital ID are ministers in the government. Who exactly are they working for? Of course, that question is asked by me in bad faith. You'll see exactly who they're working for when they are voted out and go to work for them directly. You can see now when you see who their ex-colleagues work for. So the real question is how long with the populace tolerate these massively unpopular governments, that are in-place due to historical electoral exclusion systems and media collusion, instituting massive authoritarian changes and moving more and more power into the executive and the private sector? Why have these historically 2-party countries had their 2 parties completely merge on policy matters (other than goofy wedge issues that are intentionally kept unresolved), and even combined are not even carrying majorities anymore? And how much can we hope for different out of the recently-small, disorganized, personality-driven "populist" parties who are vying to defeat them and almost getting majorities? Are they just greenfield corruption projects by the same people, to avoid or recycle the old corruption networks? Is there any possible way we can get politicians to work on all of the obvious stuff falling apart rather than spending all of their time pandering to authoritarian billionaires for life-changing amounts of cash?
- bethekidyouwant 11mo ago
  My only comment is: when has it not been this way? I suspect if you do identify the ‘glory years’ that it’s still a very small window
belter 11mo ago
This is again Oracle and the Tony Blair Institute... https://thecounterbalance.substack.com/p/digital-ids-big-techs-latest-power https://thecounterbalance.substack.com/p/digital-ids-big-tec...
- ndsipa_pomu 11mo ago
  Tony Blair, the war criminal?
  - belter 11mo ago
    The one and only: https://apublica.org/2025/10/inside-tony-blairs-toxic-tech-lobbying-machine/ https://apublica.org/2025/10/inside-tony-blairs-toxic-tech-l...
shrubhub 11mo ago
You don't need a passport to have a job. A digital ID could be handy in loads of places - like showing you're eligible for hospital care, voting, stuff employment... Even buying a drink! (not everyone drives). Most countries have them and it's not for no reason. Whether we can trust our government, though, is a different matter.
- jbstack 11mo ago
  Is anyone in the UK really complaining that it's difficult today to show you're eligible for hospital care, voting, employment, or buying a drink? I can't honestly remember a single time in my life where someone told me this was a problem for them. It's certainly never been a problem for me. This sounds to me like fixing a problem we don't really have. At a time when we have plenty of genuine and serious problems that need fixing and aren't being fixed. I'd rather see my tax money spent on tackling climate change, or decreasing hospital wait times, or hiring more teachers, or reducing dependence on Russian oil, or any of the other countless things that would make a genuine difference. Instead, we're going to blow a load of money on something that isn't going to improve people's lives (except maybe in a very negligible way) or make the world safer, and is probably going to erode my privacy and security.
- kklisura 11mo ago
  > Whether we can trust our government, though, is a different matter. (FYI Not a UK citizen) But it does matter. If I go to a protest against the government will I be rejected of all those services since someone flagged my ID?
- ajsnigrutin 11mo ago
  Can't you do that with a normal ID card? Digital ID makes it easier for governments to mandat "real name" polcies when registering online (reddit, HN, etc.), because you already have a digital ID, and if you want to make a reddit account, you'll have to link it with your real name, and this was hard until now.
- Leynos 11mo ago
  You do need to demonstrate eligibility to take up work in the UK and that is usually done by passport or something other form of id demonstrating your nationality and right to work. You shouldn't need id to vote or access healthcare.
squidbeak 11mo ago
The proposed format cuts out government, except as a dumb reference. The verification services are private companies, whose responsibilities are tightly defined under law in the recent Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. These services poll government departments during onboarding, or when data changes or is added. The ID itself isn't a single ID, rather a wallet organizing bundles of data attributes into any number of IDs. I was skeptical at first, but looking at it, I'm convinced it strengthens citizens, by giving them some control over their data.
madeofpalk 11mo ago
It's even stupider. There's already a digital ID system for immigrants to prove their right to work.
harryf 11mo ago
It’s not being driven by the UK. Check out all the other countries in the West rolling out Digital ID and it’s clearly coordinated just from the timing
octoberfranklin 11mo ago
I honestly don’t understand what the perceived advantages for the government are? Surveillance.

IanCal 11mo ago

No you don’t. A birth certificate can be used for example along with a letter from a government agency. Also expired passports are fine.

michaelt 11mo ago

Let's quote the godfather of British ID cards, Tony Blair:- > Why is TikTok so successful? Because its algorithms establish your personal preferences so quickly and satisfy them with their content. How do they do that? By accumulating your data and using the services of a huge number of computer engineers to make those algorithms so effective. [...] > Imagine that all your health information was in one place: easy, with your permission, for anyone anywhere in the health service to see. That your passport, driving licence, anything you need to prove your identity, were in one simple digital wallet, unique to you. That you could purchase and pay for any goods or services using your digital ID. https://institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/tony-blair-digital-id-is-the-disruption-the-uk-desperately-needs https://institute.global/insights/tech-and-digitalisation/to... So the proposal isn't just a mandatory ID card - it's also the unification of all government databases. Combining tax records, driving licenses, passports, NHS records, benefits, vehicle registration, the ability to get a job, the ability to rent a house and the ability to get a bank account into one unified super-database (with an app) The ID being fully digital will also be a boon for the financial services industry. Today banks extending large loans can afford to check people's documents properly even if it takes a few days and a visit to a bank branch. But what payday loan companies that want to loan someone £15 for a takeaway curry on sunday evening? They don't have the margin, the time or the physical presence to check IDs properly, and often lose money to fraud because of it.

andy_ppp 11mo ago
Why do governments think IT projects like this are even possible for them to accomplish? I can guarantee already the requirements of such a system are impossible to capture and then the developers and difficulty to build such a system with probably a thousand or more people working on it for 10 years and billions we can’t currently afford. I predict endless delays, a toxic work environment and the resulting system will not even end up working and will eventually be scrapped probably in favour of smashing everyone’s data into an LLM. Sigh.
- adammarples 11mo ago
  Because it has been accomplished already in many countries
  - andy_ppp 11mo ago
    A mandatory ID system is not the same as a unified system for all government data which is the suggested real plan
dijit 11mo ago
I always bring it up in these threads, but as a dual british/swedish citizen I find it incredulous. Sweden has a national database and a national ID card system, and it makes my life in Sweden a lot better. That said, I don’t trust the UK government, I haven’t trusted any UK government in my adult lifetime and I am coming into middle-age. Solve that problem first, maybe?
- nialv7 11mo ago
  I am indifferent to having/not having a government ID. But I just find it incredibly stupid for the government to introduce it now given the current political atmosphere.
  - dijit 11mo ago
    Have you got a license for that opinion? (I agree with you)

Traubenfuchs 11mo ago

Follow the money. Someone will get a lot of money to implement and maintain this system.

Nextgrid 11mo ago
Someone will get a lot of money* *implementation and maintenance optional and may be subject to additional fees

pessimizer 11mo ago

For me, the real question is why all these neolib governments are insisting on - spending all their political capital on - these things that have no constituency demanding them? The only people telling UK citizens that they suddenly need digital ID are ministers in the government. Who exactly are they working for? Of course, that question is asked by me in bad faith. You'll see exactly who they're working for when they are voted out and go to work for them directly. You can see now when you see who their ex-colleagues work for. So the real question is how long with the populace tolerate these massively unpopular governments, that are in-place due to historical electoral exclusion systems and media collusion, instituting massive authoritarian changes and moving more and more power into the executive and the private sector? Why have these historically 2-party countries had their 2 parties completely merge on policy matters (other than goofy wedge issues that are intentionally kept unresolved), and even combined are not even carrying majorities anymore? And how much can we hope for different out of the recently-small, disorganized, personality-driven "populist" parties who are vying to defeat them and almost getting majorities? Are they just greenfield corruption projects by the same people, to avoid or recycle the old corruption networks? Is there any possible way we can get politicians to work on all of the obvious stuff falling apart rather than spending all of their time pandering to authoritarian billionaires for life-changing amounts of cash?

bethekidyouwant 11mo ago
My only comment is: when has it not been this way? I suspect if you do identify the ‘glory years’ that it’s still a very small window

belter 11mo ago

This is again Oracle and the Tony Blair Institute... https://thecounterbalance.substack.com/p/digital-ids-big-techs-latest-power https://thecounterbalance.substack.com/p/digital-ids-big-tec...

ndsipa_pomu 11mo ago
Tony Blair, the war criminal?
- belter 11mo ago
  The one and only: https://apublica.org/2025/10/inside-tony-blairs-toxic-tech-lobbying-machine/ https://apublica.org/2025/10/inside-tony-blairs-toxic-tech-l...

shrubhub 11mo ago

You don't need a passport to have a job. A digital ID could be handy in loads of places - like showing you're eligible for hospital care, voting, stuff employment... Even buying a drink! (not everyone drives). Most countries have them and it's not for no reason. Whether we can trust our government, though, is a different matter.

jbstack 11mo ago
Is anyone in the UK really complaining that it's difficult today to show you're eligible for hospital care, voting, employment, or buying a drink? I can't honestly remember a single time in my life where someone told me this was a problem for them. It's certainly never been a problem for me. This sounds to me like fixing a problem we don't really have. At a time when we have plenty of genuine and serious problems that need fixing and aren't being fixed. I'd rather see my tax money spent on tackling climate change, or decreasing hospital wait times, or hiring more teachers, or reducing dependence on Russian oil, or any of the other countless things that would make a genuine difference. Instead, we're going to blow a load of money on something that isn't going to improve people's lives (except maybe in a very negligible way) or make the world safer, and is probably going to erode my privacy and security.
kklisura 11mo ago
> Whether we can trust our government, though, is a different matter. (FYI Not a UK citizen) But it does matter. If I go to a protest against the government will I be rejected of all those services since someone flagged my ID?
ajsnigrutin 11mo ago
Can't you do that with a normal ID card? Digital ID makes it easier for governments to mandat "real name" polcies when registering online (reddit, HN, etc.), because you already have a digital ID, and if you want to make a reddit account, you'll have to link it with your real name, and this was hard until now.
Leynos 11mo ago
You do need to demonstrate eligibility to take up work in the UK and that is usually done by passport or something other form of id demonstrating your nationality and right to work. You shouldn't need id to vote or access healthcare.

squidbeak 11mo ago

The proposed format cuts out government, except as a dumb reference. The verification services are private companies, whose responsibilities are tightly defined under law in the recent Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. These services poll government departments during onboarding, or when data changes or is added. The ID itself isn't a single ID, rather a wallet organizing bundles of data attributes into any number of IDs. I was skeptical at first, but looking at it, I'm convinced it strengthens citizens, by giving them some control over their data.

madeofpalk 11mo ago

It's even stupider. There's already a digital ID system for immigrants to prove their right to work.

harryf 11mo ago

It’s not being driven by the UK. Check out all the other countries in the West rolling out Digital ID and it’s clearly coordinated just from the timing

octoberfranklin 11mo ago

I honestly don’t understand what the perceived advantages for the government are? Surveillance.