Re: I'm ambivalent.
I'm opposed to ID cards. I speak for myself with respect to the proposals laid out by the UK Government, and I expect that a number of these points will resonate with our Special Friends across the water.
I'm opposed to them because we are being lied to about what they are for.
They will not prevent terrorist attacks, nor will they help to prevent terrorist attacks.
They will not reduce crime. They will not increase my safety, security or privacy.
I will receive no benefit from having an ID card; I will still need to obtain a passport to travel, a driving licence to drive, credit cards to spend money and so on and so forth.
They will cost me a lot of money. I do not believe that the Government can execute on the IT requirement. The track record is very poor in this area.
Given their more-or-less total uselessness as an instrument for fighting crime and terror, I'm more than a little mystified as to why we're having them foisted upon us. I can only surmise that they are part of an increasingly authoritarian style of government.
Oh, there is one group of people who want strong biometric ID cards.
Identity thieves. Sorting out a case of identity theft will become extremely difficult and costly; this will considerably enlarge the window of opportunity in which the ID thieves can operate.
