The government has issued a statement on its plans to introduce digital IDs – opposed by many, not least the 2.7 million plus who have signed an online petition in protest.
The government has also announced plans to launch a public consultation on the proposal in the coming weeks.
The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, recently announced plans to introduce Digital IDs that could be used to prove whether someone has the right to live and work in the UK. The IDs would be held in an app on a smart phone – with alternative versions proposed for those who don’t have them.
Around the world, more than 80 nations already operate government-recognised digital ID systems, using remote authentication to let people access online services and transactions, according to the World Bank.
Australia, Denmark, France, India, Mexico and Ethiopia are among those already using digital IDs, but not all are mandatory.
The proposed UK digital ID will include information about residency status, name, date of birth, nationality and a photo. It will be mandatory for people who want to work, and optional for people who don’t, such as students and pensioners.
Opponents, pointing to previously abandoned ID card projects, argue their introduction will be a step towards mass surveillance and digital control, and that no one should be forced to register with a state-controlled ID system. “We oppose the creation of any national ID system.”
Critics have also questioned the point of digital IDs since official records – be it birth certificates, residency permits, drivers’ licences or passports – are already in use; and highlighted concerns over the “botched” rollout of similar initiatives, such as eVisa.
Migrants in Britain already need to have a digital residency permit to apply for jobs and housing.
Charities say mandating digital documents can also exclude marginalised people: the homeless, refugees and people who lack digital literacy or internet connectivity.
You can view the petition here.
The Digital ID Proposal
“We will introduce a digital ID within this Parliament to help tackle illegal migration, make accessing government services easier, and enable wider efficiencies. We will consult on details soon,” the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology says.
“The Government has announced plans to introduce a digital ID system which is fit for the needs of modern Britain. We are committed to making people’s everyday lives easier and more secure, to putting more control in their hands (including over their own data), and to driving growth through harnessing digital technology. We also want to learn from countries which have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens, in line with our manifesto commitment to modernise government.
“Currently, when UK citizens and residents use public services, start a new job, or, for example, buy alcohol, they often need to present an assortment of physical documents to prove who they are or things about themselves. This is both bureaucratic for the individual and creates space for abuse and fraud. This includes known issues with illegal working and modern slavery, while the fragmented approach and multiple systems across Government make it difficult for people to access vital services. Further, there are too many people who are excluded, like the 1 in 10 UK adults who don’t have a physical photo ID, so can struggle to prove who they are and access the products and services they are entitled to.
“To tackle these interlinked issues, we will introduce a new national digital ID,” the statement continues. “This is not a card but a new digital identity that will be available for free to all UK citizens and legal residents aged 16 and over (although we will consider through consultation if this should be age 13 and over). Over time, people will be able to use it to seamlessly access a range of public and private sector services, with the aim of making our everyday lives easier and more secure. It will not be compulsory to obtain a digital ID but it will be mandatory for some applications.
“For example, the new digital ID will build on GOV.UK One Login and the GOV.UK Wallet to drive the transformation of public services. Over time, this system will allow people to access government services – such as benefits or tax records – without needing to remember multiple logins or provide physical documents. It will significantly streamline interactions with the state, saving time and reducing frustrating paperwork, while also helping to create opportunities for more joined up government services. International examples show how beneficial this can be. For instance, Estonia’s system reportedly saves each citizen hours every month by streamlining unnecessary bureaucracy, and the move to becoming a digital society has saved taxpayer money.
“By the end of this Parliament, employers will have to check the new digital ID when conducting a ‘right to work’ check. This will help combat criminal gangs who promise access to the UK labour market in order to profit from dangerous and illegal channel crossings. It will create a fairer system between UK citizens and legal residents, crack down on forged documents, and streamline the process for employers, driving up compliance. Further, it will create business information showing where employers are conducting checks, so driving more targeted action against non-compliant employers.”
• A detailed Digital ID scheme explainer can be found here.
Mission Creep?
Although the government has declared its digital ID plans are intended to prevent illegal working, it claims police will not be permitted to inspect these in all circumstances, which rather makes a nonsense of one reason for the reason for introducing them.
“For clarity,” they state, “it will not be a criminal offence to not hold a digital ID and police will not be able to demand to see a digital ID as part of a ‘stop and search’.”
Privacy and security will also be central to the digital ID programme, the government insists, despite alarm over the huge number of damaging cyber-attacks on state services, including the NHS, Jaguar Landrover and other entities in recent months.
The UK most recently issued government IDs during World War Two, but they were scrapped in 1952 following criticisms about the cost of the system and the way they were being used by the police. The most recent attempt to introduce ID cards in the 2000s was scrapped in 2011, following arguments that it was too costly and intrusive.
Opponents, including privacy campaigners Big Brother Watch have published a report, Checkpoint Britain: The dangers of digital ID and why privacy must be protected, that voices concerns that, among other things, they may be used to enable population-level surveillance, curb liberties, predict and shape people’s decisions, or be abused to track and target marginalised groups.
“They will burden law-abiding citizens and businesses, but there is little evidence to prove that they will deter illegal immigration (the stated purpose),” the report notes, and raises concerns that there is “a high risk of scope creep and the Digital ID being required for more than its stated purpose.
“Such scope creep could include surveillance of every data interactions such as voting online, paying bills and shopping.”
Big Brother Watch also points to the failures and failings of other Big Tech data projects in other government IT projects, such as eVisa and the Post Office Horizon scandal, which raise concerns about the government’s ability to manage such a large ID system to the level required.
“63% of respondents to the YouGov poll commissioned for the study said they would not trust that their digital ID would be protected ‘at all’ or ‘very much’,” the report notes, arguing “It would increase digital inequality, with people with disabilities, on low incomes and the elderly most likely to suffer consequences such as reduced access to services.”
There are also concerns such a system could lead to exclusion. When Ireland created a digital ID and used it to distribute social benefits, for example, working-class and disabled people were excluded.
In the US, the digitisation of city services led to severe security breaches. This includes over 400 recorded “ransomware” attacks on US city and county governments since 2016 – where hackers lock users out of their accounts and demand a ransom to return their data or restore access. After a 2019 attack, Baltimore lost control of its government services for weeks, costing the city over $18 million in recovery spending and lost revenue.
Government insists plans are safe
Responding to the petition concerns on safety, the government stated: “We will follow data protection law and best practice in creating a system which people can rightly put their trust in,” the government claims. “People in the UK already know and trust digital credentials held in their phone wallets to use in their everyday lives, from paying for things to storing boarding passes. The new system will be built on similar technology and be your boarding pass to government. Digitally checkable digital credentials are more secure than physical documents which can be lost, copied or forged, and often mean sharing more information than just what is necessary for a given transaction.”
Who Will Build It?
The government may have not yet decided who will build the system, but several have pointed to its fast developing commercial relationship with US company Palantir Technologies, which has not only recently secured a new AI-driven defence contract, but, as reported by New Statesman, has been given a seven-year, £330m contract with NHS England to gather the data from up to 240 NHS trusts and integrated care systems and put it all on its platform.
Its critics fear that Palantir will anonymise the priceless data hoard it oversees and sell it on, making a fortune: in the words of one, “It’s as if we have handed them the keys to North Sea oil – and paid them for it.” (The company has denied this).
“The new system will be designed in accordance with the highest security standards to protect against a comprehensive range of threats, including cyber-attacks,” say the government.
“We will launch a public consultation in the coming weeks and work closely with employers, trade unions, civil society groups and other stakeholders, to co-design the scheme and ensure it is as secure and inclusive as possible. Following consultation, we will seek to bring forward legislation to underpin this system.”
• You can view the petition here
• UK Government: Digital ID scheme: explainer
• Checkpoint Britain: The dangers of digital ID and why privacy must be protected (PDF)
• TALAN: Digital ID in the UK – is it safe?
• Context: UK’s digital ID cards: Immigration crackdown or privacy threat?
Context is powered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation Newsroom
• Understanding the Risks of Digital IDs (PDF)
This document, prepared by the American Immigrant Defense Project, carefully outlines exactly how Digital IDs can operate – and details their failures