The government's Identity Cards Bill has been criticised in two separate reports by MPs
and Lords over the amount of personal information that would be stored on the National Identity Register (NIR) and the lack of safeguards to protect that data.The House of Lords all-party Constitution Committee said an independent body is needed to be the "custodian" of the NIR to prevent improper access to data by public servants.
The chairman of the committee, Lord Holme of Cheltenham, said the ID cards bill "fundamentally" alters the relationship between citizens and the state and called for tougher safeguards.
He said in the report: "The Committee firmly rejects government claims that, in respect of privacy, ID cards are comparable to driving licences and passports. Parliament should not allow the Home Secretary such powers to administer this significant and complex scheme."
The committee also said the current bill should only cover the voluntary phase of the scheme; new legislation should be required for any move to make it compulsory for the entire population to register for an ID card.
A separate report out on the same day by the House of Lords and House of Commons joint all-party committee on Human Rights also criticises the ID cards bill and warns that the stated aims of the ID card scheme do not justify the huge invasion of privacy it will cause.
The report said: "The bill's provision for the retention of extensive personal information relating to all or large sections of the population may be insufficiently targeted to be justified as proportionate to the statutory aims."
One concern voiced by the MPs and peers is that the NIR could be used as a tool to track everything an individual does.
It said: "The retention of records of checks against the Register... is likely to build up a comprehensive picture of an individual's employment, use of public services and private transactions, which over time, would amount to a considerable intrusion on the individual's private life."
The report also said the requirement to hand over personal details for the NIR in order to get other documents such as a passport would effectively make the ID card scheme compulsory for large groups of people.
Concerns that there aren't enough safeguards in the ID cards bill to prevent unauthorised disclosure and leaks of personal information from the NIR are also raised in the report.
The bill was narrowly approved by MPs last week in the House of Commons and is due to begin what is expected to be a rocky passage through the House of Lords on 31 October.
Talkback
It seems that everyone has a more balanced and sensible understanding of the implications of the ID card and the NIR than the government itself. This in a time when we have lost faith in government.
The implications of the ID card and the NIR are profound and the use to which these will be put will grow with technology and state control - inevitably.
This is our legacy to our children and grand children.
The real argument isn't all the biometrics and information, (that can be changed along the way) but WHO has access to the database. It should be a closed system, not linked to the internet, and under no circumstances be accessible by commercial organisations(unlike the electoral register). On this point I agree with most of the opposers, I don't want this proposed database to be given to anyone I haven't been told about.
However
For all the "big brother" conspiracy theorists out there.
CCTV caught the failed London terrorists, as well as many violent crime offenders. It will also HELP someone prove they are innocent of an alleged offence if they can prove they weren't there. As will being "tracked" by the use of credit cards/ID etc. I have always lived in city centres, I love CCTV! Look at how many fake number plates have shown up on the congestion charge system.
ID theft is up massively and you can get a fake passport for about £600< £1000 depending on how good it is. Do you really want to get on a plane knowing that some of the people travelling may not be who their passport says they are? I don't. ID cards can't promise 100% security, but it will make it a lot harder to travel under false ID.
I'm sure you don't want the Govt. to know all this information about you, but the reality today is that the criminally minded have access to masses of technology to fake ID, credit cards etc. In order to stay ahead of them it becomes a technology arms race, driven by economics. If it is too expensive/difficult to fake something, they won't bother untill it becomes cheap enough, then you have to move the goal posts again. Groups that have access to huge funds and corrupt govt. officials will be the first to circumvent any system, a reality of life. So no, it probably won't stop Al Quaeda. But it will mess it up for a large proportion of the criminal world, who of course will do everything possible to avoid ever getting an ID card in the first place! Why making it voluntary won't ever work.
The Technology doesn't work; the data can't be protected from corrupt officials; I can't afford a passport let alone an ID card so why are the government hell bent on wasting my money at this point in time. Give it a couple of years when the technology is proven and cheaper and maybe I will reconsider.
And yes they will be able to work out which way you voted.