It has finally happened. The British Government has announced plans to introduce mandatory Digital ID.
The new “BritCard” will be a requirement for anyone working in the UK. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said:
I know working people are worried about the level of illegal migration… Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure. And it will also offer ordinary citizens countless benefits, like being able to prove your identity to access key services swiftly—rather than hunting around for an old utility bill.
The Government is selling the idea on two main grounds. First, that it will reduce illegal migration by making it more difficult for illegal migrants to work and, therefore, reduce the “pull-factor,” and second, that it will make life more convenient for those who need to prove their right to work.
The thing about people who migrate illegally is that they are not particularly deterred by the law. Employers are already required to check that their staff have the right to work in the UK, and face fines if they don’t. Illegal migrants do not apply for jobs in the “normal” way. They often work in the shadow economy, where they already subvert current right-to-work checks. Some employers ignore the law and pay said employees cash-in-hand.
If some employers already fail to check their employees’ legal status, why would they check their Digital ID?
The answer is that they won’t. People who break the law will continue to break the law. The “BritCard” will not have a major impact on illegal migration, if any at all.
What about convenience? Well, Digital IDs may make verification easier. But if it is about convenience, why must it be mandatory? We already have passports, driving licenses, and other forms of identification.
Crucially, if it is about making life more convenient, then people who oppose them should not be required to have them. There are a plethora of reasons why someone may reasonably oppose Digital ID.
Digital IDs are not simply an online version of existing ID systems.
So many features of modern life involve online verification. Whether it be online shopping or booking train tickets, login screens and prompts to give up personal information are entirely ordinary. But whilst digital identification is an ordinary part of everyday life, mandatory centralized Digital ID systems are not.
Crucially, Digital ID systems are linked to centralized Government databases. They create a unique identifier for every single user, linking personal data across Government departments.
Every single time a person uses their digital ID, it creates a recorded map of his or her movements, updated in real time. Whether you use the Digital ID to apply for a job, rent a home, or go into a bar, this system can track your movements.
Who, what, where, when? All of this information, held in a central Government database, is aggregated, categorized, and searchable.
This would be an unprecedented amount of personal information collected about every single person in the country. This information could, in the future, be used against you.
The question then becomes: Do you trust the Government with this data?
Even if the Government has no malicious aims, do you trust it to keep your data safe?
A few months ago, the Government was embroiled in a major scandal in which they accidentally leaked the personal information of almost 19,000 people helping the UK Government in Afghanistan. These were people fleeing the Taliban, and the leak put their lives at risk.
If the Ministry of Defence can’t be trusted with sensitive data, how could anyone trust the Government to safeguard detailed personal information of the entire UK population? Even without incompetence or malicious intent, the data could be a honeypot for hackers and foreign adversaries.
This threat is not speculative. The NHS experienced a data breach that allowed hackers to access thousands of patients’ data, including how to access some of their homes (for those receiving at-home care).
Almost 3 million people have signed a petition against the introduction of Digital ID. The Government’s response ignored these concerns, and began with “We will introduce a Digital ID within this Parliament…”
Perhaps Orwell ought to have been taken more seriously.
The post Checkpoint Britain was first published by the Foundation for Economic Education, and is republished here with permission. Please support their efforts.
