To be absolutely fuming about the digital ID thing?

[summerlovingvibes]

I work as a nurse in England.

I just feel absolutely fuming about the digital ID proposals and don't know how to channel my anger??

I very strongly object to this. It makes my blood boil when I think about it and I feel anxious knowing that something like this may be imposed on us all.

It is not going to stop illegal immigration. That line is absolute BS. They're doing it for their own selfish reasons.

What do we do? I don't want to not work, but I am going to refuse to have one. So my employer may sack me?!

It's just ridiculous!

Obviously I've signed the petition, emailed my MP, will join any protests etc.

But practically speaking - will my employer actually sack me for not having one?

I totally agree but right now parties are getting in with a very small percentage of eligible voters actually voting due to how our voting system works which creates its own problems. I'd rather not make it even easier for parties like those to access mine or my child's information.

That’s border control, nothing to do with ID.

Indeed. If you need to file a self assessment tax return and haven’t set up a government gateway account with HMRC you can still file by scanning a passport photo page or your drivers licence. These are then compared with the government database to check your NI and ID link up properly. This has been the case for a number of years already.

Yep, we are, with no shame at all. And when we are later saying “we told you so”, we will also be saying “we can tell our children that we foresaw this, and we did not remain silent”.

How?

Isn't it just the same data that is already held about you by government, but accessible through a new digital ID verification process?

I've lived in a country that already had this for years and it's so useful. I could log on and see medical history, driving licence, taxes, property ownership info etc. stored in different govt locations but accessible via one portal.

But they already have all that information available at the government level.

How does you having a version of it to show to other people change anything?

My only concern is who the government choose to administer this and how are they going to safeguard our data and what repercussions will ordinary citizens have if they screw up. I am thinking of the Horizon scandal, and the way Palantir have everyone's NHS data. Having a compulsory ID - not a problem at all.

YANBU OP the naivety here is deeply worrying

I 100% agree with you to be honest I am fully against it aswell

I agree, those are concerns. As I’ve mentioned a few times though the actual database containing all of your information already exists. So hopefully they’ll use a similar system to the one which currently safeguards all that information.

Your thread is “aibu to be absolutely fuming about the digital ID thing” and so people are going to respond to that.

Can someone who is anti the digital ID explain what the main objection is?

Everyone of you is already in a government database where all this information is already available to people working in government departments.

Most people have to give their NI number for employment - how is that different from showing another kind of ID?

You clearly haven’t had to deal with a death for a while. The “Tell us once” service works really well. Everything from pension to passport to driving licence to benefits to council tax get sorted with a simple 5 minute website form.

Unlike private companies like utilities and banks and phone companies which can be a bloody nightmare.

www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once

Surely you know everyone can be identified NHS number from birth NI number when you start work, driving licence, passport. It's just getting one universal thing rather than having to dig out whatever identification is required for practically anything you want to do financially or in many other areas. In life we all have to do things we don't want to, like getting up in the morning! I get pretty fed up with having to send copies of my passport, driving licence, utility bills and goodness knows what else just to set up accounts, it would be so much easier with just one thing.

If you think you are somehow not in the system already you're wrong your identity is not some sort of secret you're protecting. Fifty years ago you could be pretty invisible but not now.

Can someone who is anti the digital ID explain what the main objection is?
Control. It's not just the data, the system is all about your smart phone. So if they want to introduce pay-per-mile or 15 minute cities or a curfew or do stop-and-search ... (remember those alarm tests?)

Big Brother wants to watch you. It's not for your benefit. Was there a campaign asking for this? If so, I missed it. It's for the Government's benefit.

Not sure what any of this has to do with having an identity card. If you don't want a smart phone don't have one.

Others that don’t want it will get it anyway, because its incursion into their ‘privacy’ is so minor when they already have a passport etc, that it’s not worth being unable to work due to some sort of weird belligerence.

This.
Universal ID? Fine, it’s already the norm in many European countries. But there must be an option to have a physical card if people prefer it or need it. Otherwise people are basically being forced to buy a smartphone and carry it everywhere. As you say, this will exclude lots of people and irritate others. I do have a smartphone but often it’s more time-consuming to use apps for things than just taking a simple card out of your wallet.

What? The identity card is on the phone. It's Digital ID.

Then you should have said 'What are you going to do if you don't want an ID card?' in your thread title, rather than asking if you were unreasonable to be fuming about it!

That’s pretty much mandatory then if you need to for work and whatever else is added, house selling already.

The people who get round stuff still will and citizens will sign up. What’s the point?

If there was a regular card option would you be okay with that?

@BadgernTheGarden & @Horsehow obviously I know all of these things - I don't live under a rock!
I don't like the fact that it can be used to add more and more and more restrictions and control over time. They will add things in, track and trace your every move and link it with everything which I fundamentally do not want. I hate the idea of it being linked to house buying and selling, bank accounts, eventually vaccine data.

I do not trust them one iota to not fuck things up or get things wrong.

And basically I want to keep control of who I give my information to and when!

Totally agree OP

Im not sure what I’ll do other than not comply!