AIBU to think that Digital ID will not stop illegal immigration, and nor is it a good idea?

[Westfacing]

How will this prevent boat crossings?

Of course it won’t stop illegal immigration. There is no intention to stop illegal immigration. Leftist establishment wants open border. They could stop illegal immigration tomorrow if they wanted to. Like Australia did. But this and the previous government don’t want to.

So they’ll just use it an excuse to push through other things like ID cards.

If you trust or believe the government on anything, then more fool you.

It's not a daft question at all!

You need those things to work legally, yes. Some people work in the black economy doing things that don't require them. Others use someone else's legitimate ID. And since the introduction of a digital ID won't remove the demand for illegal labour, yes people are going to ignore the lack of digital ID just as they now ignore the lack of documentation.

Somehow doubt it. Ostenibly controlling migration is merely the figleaf they're using to manufacture consent to install this infrastructure. It's really a social credit scheme.

For people asking about some of the risks of digital ID, I've collated some from other sources below, please add to this if there's anything missed:

A centralised digital ID system creates a single, highly attractive target for hackers; a breach could expose complete identities, including passports, driver's licenses, and medical records, leading to identity theft and fraud.

The aggregation of personal data from various sources—such as work status, housing, and benefits—into a single digital identity increases the risk of misuse and creates a comprehensive profile that could be exploited by both state and private companies.

Digital ID systems can enable pervasive surveillance and tracking, potentially stifling free expression and association, especially when combined with technologies like facial recognition and location tracking (which is already happening).

The implementation of such systems may lead to the exclusion of vulnerable groups, including seniors, low-income individuals, and those in rural or connectivity-limited areas, who may struggle to access or use the technology, thereby perpetuating social and economic divides.

There is a significant risk of data being misused or sold by service providers and the lack of robust legal frameworks for data protection can lead to abusive data collection, storage and collation, and violations of privacy rights, including selling the date on via data brokers.

If the digital ID is not executed well (and look at our history of that!), then this could lead to the ID not working, or not updating correctly, or not working in areas of poor signal etc, meaning people would not being able to access services they need when they need them, including important services like health care.

Please add anything I've missed!

Thank you so much. I thought I was missing something. Thank you x

Distrust, or healthy cynicism, of other people’s intentions is in many ways the basis of a functioning democracy, because those in opposition are encouraged to debate, criticise and complain about what those in power are doing - which is why ours is the oldest continuous democracy in the world. Former colonies that based their system on our own are also successfully stable governments. Because our system is good, and it works - or it worked until relatively recently.

This mindset has its drawbacks, but all things considered it has served us well. Those that strive for power, such as politicians, aren't exactly known for their unfiltered honesty after all. We can’t just assume they’re acting in our best interests. Very often, we’re just pawns.

I can imagine a lot of people will be scammed into giving criminals access to their digital ID and that individuals will be targeted by ransomware attacks (because being locked out of your ID will be such a pain).

How would people feel if social media sites asked you to upload your digital ID in order to register or keep your account?

Brilliant post.

This.

It's probably long overdue tbh.

Can you imagine the pious outcry on MN if any illegal immigrant was denied NHS treatment because they lacked the ID card?

There’d be endless emotional threads about the cruelty and unfairness of it, and the infringement on their human rights - which makes a mockery of the whole idea from the get go! Those so keen on the idea now will be the first to find excuses and seek special treatment for those who don’t abide by the rules, should they come to fruition.

I live in a country with ID cards. You cannot get benefits or welfare without one so it cuts down the fraud. It's also very convenient to have one

🙄

Thise migrants queue up to be registered, they want to be "picked up" and go out of their way to make their presknown to the authorities.

Us in 2030...Oh how we laughed at the idea of being chipped...

Every single account you have will be linked to this I.D.

Thats the real reason. To make surveillance easier. The government will be able to track you to a degree that would have made the KGB wet themselves.

But people are just too stupid to understand.

Anyone who supports the idea of a Government mandated digital I.d is a naive idiot.

It predates Gerry Adams by quite some time

Whay do you think the purpose if a digital I.D is?

This should be good . . .

Even if they did it for NHS appointments how many would be wasted because someone forgot their ID, or their phone died, or they couldn't get it to work? Plus the impact that would then have on the health of a poorly nation - look what delays and cancelled appts did to people during covid - people died, and people who are a little bit sick, get sicker and become harder and more costly to treat.

At the moment. And Denmark are a very anti-privacy country - they are the ones who have proposed and are pushing Chat Control. It's also interesting that on SM lots of Danes are complaining that this has been hushed by the press, and that it's not being reported on. Not a model I would want to be mirroring.

So if I asked you for your phone and your passcode, so I could have a nosey around read your emails and messages and notes and calendar, and stuck a tracker on your car so I could see where you were going all the time and kept a log of it, and sat and looked over your shoulder while your surfed the net to watch everything you were doing and made a note of that too and kept it, you wouldn't care? I'm not talking about stalking, just me, a stranger, who just fancies having a gander at all your stuff.

I'd find that surprising but maybe you wouldn't? If you would though, why would you care about me knowing all your personal and sometimes intimate details and information, but you don't care about the PEOPLE at Google, or Meta, or in the government knowing it all.. People run and work in those organisations, people review that data, people have access to the data (either legitimately or maliciously). And these organisations, who are engaging in mass surveillance, can do many more nefarious things with your data that I can as an individual.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/730194

“Illegal immigration” is just an excuse to introduce digital IDs. What they want - is total control over population. Digital slavery. No privacy. No rights.

Yes at a time when the country is skint, services are on their knees, and they are trying to increase taxes and cut spending, this seems a complete waste of taxpayer's money.

Yes at a time when the country is skint, services are on their knees, and they are trying to increase taxes and cut spending, this seems a complete waste of taxpayer's money.

Good shout. An extract from an article on what Palantir are up to in the US below.....interesting parallels and possible reason for sudden push for ID scheme.....

"In JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, a “palantír” is a seeing stone that can be used to distort truth and present selective visions of reality. During the War of the Ring, a palantír falls under the control of Sauron, who uses it to manipulate and deceive.

Palantir Technologies bears a striking similarity. It sells an AI-based platform that allows its users – among them, military and law enforcement agencies – to analyze personal data, including social media profiles, personal information and physical characteristics. These are used to identify and surveil individuals.

In March, Trump signed an executive order requiring all agencies and departments of the federal government to share data on Americans. To get the job done, Trump chose Palantir Technologies.

According to New York Times reporting, Palantir’s software may now be used to combine data gleaned from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. Meanwhile, the administration wants access to citizens’ and others’ bank account numbers and medical claims."

Full article....

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/30/peter-thiel-palantir-threat-to-americans Archive link: https://archive.ph/g5MQ0

Palantir cosying up to labour:

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23746831.palantir-babock-among-contentious-sponsors-labour-conference/ Archive link: https://archive.ph/7X5Ag

Labour announce £750 million dollar deal (and there's been other large deals in the last few years with them).

https://www.thenational.scot/news/25478709.labour-slammed-750m-mod-deal-idf-linked-tech-giant-palantir/ Archive link: https://archive.ph/fZe7X

The company's business model seems to include deep integration with its clients, with employees often embedding within government agencies to develop new use cases for its software, such as seen in Palantir's Falcon platform used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)*

*Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/sep/22/ice-palantir-data - Archive link: https://archive.ph/MZey2

Yay, huge companies and far-right billionaires integrating with the government and having access to our data. Not worrying at all if that's the plan.

The numbers on this are going up fast!