Civil Liberties and Human Rights

[nedflanders]

I have never understood these people who complain about their Civil Liberties and Human Rights being violated by such trivial things as photo driving licences and now national identity cards. What is the big deal about having your personal info stored on a card. After all it could save your life and make things like organ donantions easier to handle.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Personally, I have never understood people who ignore their Civil Liberties and Human Rights being violated by such things as photo driving licences and now national identity cards.

[paulz]

where's the violation in proving who you are? what is there to fear if you've done nothing wrong?

[IggyB]

National Identity Cards... would you get thrown in prison if you didn't have it with you one day? probably not becasue that would becompletely unmanageable / unacceptable, so what would happen is you'd most likely be told to present it at a police station within 5 days... fair enough BUT obviously only people who had them and had not outstanding criminal charges would then go and present them the people that didn't have them would have given a false name and had 5 days make good any escpae plan... SO whats the point of having them as its only going to be the law abiding british citizens that are going to be affected.

[Quizmonster]

Wouldn't it be nice if people started to harp on about Civil Duties and Human Responsibilities for a change?

[darth vader]

First we shall introduce identity cards. Den ve shall make you change your language. Zen ve shall rule ze verld.

Sorry if this humour offends everyone but i'm just pointing out one reason why people are so against identity cards - Big Brother state 'n' all that. Personally i don't give a t0ss - i carry my driving licence in my wallet at all times anyway (in case i'm stopped by the Hoccifer)

[darth vader]

First we shall introduce identity cards. Den ve shall make you change your language. Zen ve shall rule ze verld.

Sorry if this humour offends everyone but i'm just pointing out one reason why people are so against identity cards - Big Brother state 'n' all that. Personally i don't give a masturbation - i carry my driving licence in my wallet at all times anyway (in case i'm stopped by the Hoccifer)

[Gef]

I agree entirely with ned. With modern technology your ID card could become your driving licence and passport - only one small piece of plastic to carry around.

[Postie]

As an older citizen of this country, I can well remember having an identity card and a ration card, there was no massive hang up about their existence as most people could see the need. The information on them was basic and easily forgeable, even later service identity cards fell into the same category. Even today, it doesn't take a mastermind to reproduce a driving licence photocard. The subject of a new hi-tech identity card brings forth new problems or at least fears. A driving licence type identity card with photograph and which contained name, date of birth, gender(?), national insurance number, blood group and identifying features encrypted on a chip would probably be acceptable to most people in the country. However, anyone who trusts this gov't or any future gov't to stop at that level is living in cloud cuckoo land, the man or woman who controls the chip controls the country. AND, find an expert in bank fraud to ask how easy is it for crooks to replicate your switch card, that's when you start to worry. There is information about most of us held on a multitude of databases all over the country, but the individual computers don't necessarily talk to each other, some do within an industry, i.e. car insurance but most keep certain information back and only release your name and address with your socio-economic profile (ask yourself why you get junk mail). The introduction of a national card brings the day a little closer when one small group or coterie can access all the necessary information to rule the world. The first paragraph of darth vaders answer is not so far from the truth unfortunately.

[Janetex]

You're obviously not a woman who's been badgered with nuisance calls from a store clerk, librarian, bank teller and policeman, because your full name and address appears on a card. Anyway, we're all jumping off the same cliff now, so why worry.

[jenstar]

The draft bill isn't even about "having your personal info stored on a card" Personal info will be stored on a card, but that's only a tiny part of the scheme. It's about having your biometric details stored on a central computer so they don't even need access to your card. And how will they get your details? For many people, it will be through passport and driving licence renewals. No more sending your renewal form in the post - now you will have to attend your nearest office in person and have your fingerprints taken, iris and face scanned and logged on the national computer. Even if people say they are against the scheme on principle, how many will be prepared to give up driving? Not many, I bet. It's a huge exercise in coercion that makes all previous machiavellian schemes look positively amateurish. (See, I've actually READ the draft bill, unlike most journalists who've just read the press release.)

[Miss Zippy]

It smacks of Big Brother and state control at the expense of the liberty of the law abiding individual. David Blunkett might have your average Daily Mail reader believing that the imposition of identity cards will prevent abuse of our social security system by illegal immigrants etc, but I don't buy that. Likewise, I hardly think that having a national indentity card system is going to prevent terrorist activity on UK soil; terrorists will have the means and know-how to get round any problems these cards pose to their activities.

[headlesspets]

hoorah for quizmonster

[Quizmonster]

Thanks, H! It's nice to know I'm not the only one who's sickened by people constantly whining on about what the wicked world is doing to/owes them.

[WaldoMcFroog]

"It's nice to know I'm not the only one who's sickened by people constantly whining on about what the wicked world is doing to/owes them."

Yes, that's *so* right QM; anyone who has an opinion contrary to yours is 'whining' and being selfish. Absolutely correct - your succinct and sophisticated argument has blown whacking great holes in any contrary logic, and I personally feel chastened to have even thought there could conceivably be another point of view with any degree of legitimacy on these issues. It's Daily Mail for me, from now on...

[Pinotage]

You will have to carry your ID with you at all times, you will have to produce it whenever you do transactions like using a credit card*, booking into a hotel, etc etc. You will have to get it updated every time you move to show your correct address. And you will get fined if you don't. ANd what happens if/when it gets lost or stolen?

Now this might be worthwhile if ID cards stopped crime, but can anyone name any crimefree countries?

It wil be a mssive imposition on honest people - the crooks will have forged or stolen cards.
It will happen - credit card slips in Sweden (an ID country) have space for the ID number.