Digital ID in the UK has worked out extremely poorly for eVisas and now they want to roll it out for everyone.
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* The people for whom digital ID is frictionless already have easy access to ID. The goal of a new system should not be to make things easier for the already-empowered by making new barriers for the systemically excluded.
Should the government impose new requirements on people communicating name changed and other status updates?
[Use your own words and do not cut and paste if you do the consultation.]
No!!
Britons have the right to go by more than one name. This would also penalise trans people who are already vulnerable. Right now, it's not at all clear to trans people how and when to notify the government of status changes. Because of systemic problems within the NHS and access to transition services, many people are on irregular pathways. There is no way to create a bright line that can or should be enforced. This is a significant population of people who are structurally prevented from being able to provide correct information now. Making this an aspect of regular daily life will amplify this problem and contribute to a feeling of persecution already present in the transgender community.
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Should the government impose new requirements on people communicating name changed and other status updates?
[Use your own words and do not cut and paste if you do the consultation.]
No!!
Britons have the right to go by more than one name. This would also penalise trans people who are already vulnerable. Right now, it's not at all clear to trans people how and when to notify the government of status changes. Because of systemic problems within the NHS and access to transition services, many people are on irregular pathways. There is no way to create a bright line that can or should be enforced. This is a significant population of people who are structurally prevented from being able to provide correct information now. Making this an aspect of regular daily life will amplify this problem and contribute to a feeling of persecution already present in the transgender community.
Should name changing be streamlined?
No, actually.
[reword please]
People may have good reasons for wanting to use different names in different parts of their life. A married woman who uses her birth name professionally may want to use that name with Companies House, while using her married name in domestic contexts, like for a rental agreement or a mortgage. The current name change process allows people a lot of control over their identity and is not difficult in practice. It does not need to be streamlined or replaced, especially at the cost of significant disadvantage to women in professional roles.
Note also that you currently don't need to provide ID for most things in your life that include your name, like utility bills. This should not get tied up in the ID system.
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Should name changing be streamlined?
No, actually.
[reword please]
People may have good reasons for wanting to use different names in different parts of their life. A married woman who uses her birth name professionally may want to use that name with Companies House, while using her married name in domestic contexts, like for a rental agreement or a mortgage. The current name change process allows people a lot of control over their identity and is not difficult in practice. It does not need to be streamlined or replaced, especially at the cost of significant disadvantage to women in professional roles.
Note also that you currently don't need to provide ID for most things in your life that include your name, like utility bills. This should not get tied up in the ID system.
[please reword]
* Various disabilities, including intellectual ones could prevent the use of digital ID.
* There are members of minority religious faiths, like Jews, who cannot use digital devices on certain days of the week or on certain holidays, who nevertheless, may wish to drink alcohol or engage in another activity that would not normally involve the use of electricity.
* There are also some people who will just never develop digital skills. Some don't want those skills. In a free country, people should be allowed to chose not to have digital devices in their personal possession and chose not to learn to use them.
* People have the right to be digital refuseniks. Possession of a "smart" device cannot become a prerequisite to participation in modern life.
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[please reword]
* Various disabilities, including intellectual ones could prevent the use of digital ID.
* There are members of minority religious faiths, like Jews, who cannot use digital devices on certain days of the week or on certain holidays, who nevertheless, may wish to drink alcohol or engage in another activity that would not normally involve the use of electricity.
* There are also some people who will just never develop digital skills. Some don't want those skills. In a free country, people should be allowed to chose not to have digital devices in their personal possession and chose not to learn to use them.
* People have the right to be digital refuseniks. Possession of a "smart" device cannot become a prerequisite to participation in modern life.
* Many Orthodox Jews do not own smart devices. They do not carry or use electronic devices on the sabbath or at other specific times. You cannot work around this with "training".
. . .Orthodox Jews on Friday / Saturday is admittedly a rare case, but there are circumstances in which they may have arranged for whiskey to be available on shabbat and want to drink it and would not be able to use a digital ID.
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* Many Orthodox Jews do not own smart devices. They do not carry or use electronic devices on the sabbath or at other specific times. You cannot work around this with "training".
. . .Orthodox Jews on Friday / Saturday is admittedly a rare case, but there are circumstances in which they may have arranged for whiskey to be available on shabbat and want to drink it and would not be able to use a digital ID.
* Any specific help will cause some people to feel shame and they will be systemically excluded. There is no fair way to deploy digital ID.
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* Any specific help will cause some people to feel shame and they will be systemically excluded. There is no fair way to deploy digital ID.
*A card with a chip in it would still not be accessible for Orthodox Jews on the sabbath because it involves electricity, but would solve their access problems at other times.
However, if this is also just another biometric ID card, what is the point of having an app at all when a card is so much easier for users? Surely this is a sign that this whole scheme is ill-conceived.
* If an ID is foisted upon us, something I strongly oppose, the alternative access route needs to be generally available to anyone who does not want to use their phone for ID. This is both because it intersects with religious beliefs and because I have the right to exist in society even if I have forgotten to charge my battery. Again, it would be better to not have a digital ID system at all.
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*A card with a chip in it would still not be accessible for Orthodox Jews on the sabbath because it involves electricity, but would solve their access problems at other times.
However, if this is also just another biometric ID card, what is the point of having an app at all when a card is so much easier for users? Surely this is a sign that this whole scheme is ill-conceived.
* If an ID is foisted upon us, something I strongly oppose, the alternative access route needs to be generally available to anyone who does not want to use their phone for ID. This is both because it intersects with religious beliefs and because I have the right to exist in society even if I have forgotten to charge my battery. Again, it would be better to not have a digital ID system at all.
How should we further protect data?
* Estonia's digital ID system has been repeatedly compromised by hostile state actors. Data that is not collected cannot be leaked.
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How should we further protect data?
* Estonia's digital ID system has been repeatedly compromised by hostile state actors. Data that is not collected cannot be leaked.
This consultation is fucking long.
Suddenly, in part 5, they discover that they're going to need to provide not-an-app routes to use an ID.
So it's just a fucking ID card that can potentially be a theft hazard on your phone.
This whole thing is just a irritating as fuck ID card bill that's meant to give all your biometric data to the police, which is hoping that you'll use an app instead so they can spy on all your movements.
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This consultation is fucking long.
Suddenly, in part 5, they discover that they're going to need to provide not-an-app routes to use an ID.
So it's just a fucking ID card that can potentially be a theft hazard on your phone.
This whole thing is just a irritating as fuck ID card bill that's meant to give all your biometric data to the police, which is hoping that you'll use an app instead so they can spy on all your movements.
Q: What measures do you think should be in place to help you feel confident in resolving any issues with your national digital ID?
1. Make the system entirely optional. People can get a digital ID or they can continue to engage with things as they already do. At any time, they can choose to revoke their digital ID forever and return to the old system.
2. Do not collect biometrics.
3. Do not store any usage data.
4. Do not involve any foreign country or foreign business in any part of the infrastructure or software.
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Q: What measures do you think should be in place to help you feel confident in resolving any issues with your national digital ID?
1. Make the system entirely optional. People can get a digital ID or they can continue to engage with things as they already do. At any time, they can choose to revoke their digital ID forever and return to the old system.
2. Do not collect biometrics.
3. Do not store any usage data.
4. Do not involve any foreign country or foreign business in any part of the infrastructure or software.
Do you think there are any other costs to businesses from introducing the national digital ID system that have not been considered?
* Businesses that want to hire from vulnerable populations will have to do extra work to mitigate the systemic barriers this system imposes on people like homeless people.
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Do you think there are any other costs to businesses from introducing the national digital ID system that have not been considered?
* Businesses that want to hire from vulnerable populations will have to do extra work to mitigate the systemic barriers this system imposes on people like homeless people.
Do you think there are any other costs to households from introducing the national digital ID system that have not been considered?
* People who need to claim benefits are the most likely people to have difficulty navigating this scheme. People who need help will not get it. Children will go hungry.
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Do you think there are any other costs to households from introducing the national digital ID system that have not been considered?
* People who need to claim benefits are the most likely people to have difficulty navigating this scheme. People who need help will not get it. Children will go hungry.
Do you believe there are any other wider impacts from introducing the national digital ID system that have not been considered in this consultation?
* The implications of forcing people to always go by one specific name all the time have clearly not been taken into account at all. The impact this puts on married women who want to work under their birth name and on people (especially women) trying to escape domestic abuse have not been taken into account.
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Do you believe there are any other wider impacts from introducing the national digital ID system that have not been considered in this consultation?
* The implications of forcing people to always go by one specific name all the time have clearly not been taken into account at all. The impact this puts on married women who want to work under their birth name and on people (especially women) trying to escape domestic abuse have not been taken into account.
Is there anything else not covered by these questions that you wish to share with us as part of this consultation?
[please reword]
* The proposed universal collection of biometric data is a massive government overreach. Coupled with the wide deployment of facial recognition technology, this creates extremely totalitarian potentials to track us every time we walk around our cities, buy a pint, log on to social media, or look at erotic content. There is no compelling state interest to collect or use this data, but the digital ID system would do so (or making doing so extremely easy.) We have a moral right to privacy.
* This system, since it involves Apple and Google, is reliant on US companies and therefore works or breaks at the whims of the US government. If microsoft can unilaterally lock out people working at the International Criminal Court, Google and Apple can disable our IDs just as easily. If we implement this, we have ceded sovereignty over our own ability to work to the veto of the US government. They are an unreliable partner making expansionist demands to annex European territory. They could cut off the entire UK. They could cut off specific people. They could decide that transgender data updates are invalid and revoke them. Because this would rely not just on central servers but also on millions of individual devices running US operating systems, there is no way to prevent foreign interference. This is a major loss of sovereignty.
* No digital ID system deployed anywhere in the world has had any measurable effect on irregular migration, but the Indian system that you wish to emulate has lead to children starving to death. This does not solve the problem you want to solve, but instead creates new, different problems and makes existing problems worse.
* The people for whom digital ID would be easy are people who already have easy access to ID. This creates additional barriers for marginalised people.
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Is there anything else not covered by these questions that you wish to share with us as part of this consultation?
[please reword]
* The proposed universal collection of biometric data is a massive government overreach. Coupled with the wide deployment of facial recognition technology, this creates extremely totalitarian potentials to track us every time we walk around our cities, buy a pint, log on to social media, or look at erotic content. There is no compelling state interest to collect or use this data, but the digital ID system would do so (or making doing so extremely easy.) We have a moral right to privacy.
* This system, since it involves Apple and Google, is reliant on US companies and therefore works or breaks at the whims of the US government. If microsoft can unilaterally lock out people working at the International Criminal Court, Google and Apple can disable our IDs just as easily. If we implement this, we have ceded sovereignty over our own ability to work to the veto of the US government. They are an unreliable partner making expansionist demands to annex European territory. They could cut off the entire UK. They could cut off specific people. They could decide that transgender data updates are invalid and revoke them. Because this would rely not just on central servers but also on millions of individual devices running US operating systems, there is no way to prevent foreign interference. This is a major loss of sovereignty.
* No digital ID system deployed anywhere in the world has had any measurable effect on irregular migration, but the Indian system that you wish to emulate has lead to children starving to death. This does not solve the problem you want to solve, but instead creates new, different problems and makes existing problems worse.
* The people for whom digital ID would be easy are people who already have easy access to ID. This creates additional barriers for marginalised people.
fucking hell that was long.
I really don't want another biometric ID card, but it's better than a fucking phone app.
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fucking hell that was long.
I really don't want another biometric ID card, but it's better than a fucking phone app.
Ok, so:
An Orthodox Jew goes on holiday in the UK. She has pre-booked at an all-inclusive resort. Friday night dinner comes with an alcoholic beverage.
She cannot use a digital ID on Friday night because it's shabbat.
Therefore, she can't have any alcohol with her shabbat dinner on her holiday.
This is not a far-fetched scenario at all. Everybody goes on holiday occasionally. People travel. They like a drink with dinner on special days.
But this is the rule that the UK government wants to introduce. Worse holidays.
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Ok, so:
An Orthodox Jew goes on holiday in the UK. She has pre-booked at an all-inclusive resort. Friday night dinner comes with an alcoholic beverage.
She cannot use a digital ID on Friday night because it's shabbat.
Therefore, she can't have any alcohol with her shabbat dinner on her holiday.
This is not a far-fetched scenario at all. Everybody goes on holiday occasionally. People travel. They like a drink with dinner on special days.
But this is the rule that the UK government wants to introduce. Worse holidays.
@celesteh Seems on-brand. Does the UK have something like the (odious) Religious Freedom Act like we have in the states? The RFA was written to protect the hegemony of Xtianity, but occasionally it's successfully invoked to protect minority religions.
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@celesteh Seems on-brand. Does the UK have something like the (odious) Religious Freedom Act like we have in the states? The RFA was written to protect the hegemony of Xtianity, but occasionally it's successfully invoked to protect minority religions.
I'm not entirely clear that this scenario quite holds up because I'm not a member of that community.
The whole proposed scheme is so obviously absurd and, if implemented, could only be a spectacularly expensive failure that ended several politicians careers, which is a strong indication that Labour will actually launch it.
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Digital ID in the UK has worked out extremely poorly for eVisas and now they want to roll it out for everyone. This is bad.
Do the consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-public-services-work-for-you-with-your-digital-identity
Why should you be against digital ID?
* A charged smart phone with a data plan and a corporate-controlled OS should not be a prerequisite for engaging in society.
* People who cannot use a smartphone due to advanced age or disability (this is over 11 million Britons, btw) still have the right to go to the pub for a drink or to buy an adult magazine. Requiring a smartphone for daily life discriminates against elderly people, people with disabilities, people who do not have easy access to charging points, people who do not have money for a phone or a data plan.
* Britons should own and control their own identities, pick their own names, and continue to be free to use different names in different contexts.
* We should not be surveilled in conducting our everyday life. The government should not have a record of every time we want to buy a bottle of wine or look at pictures of naked people. There is no legitimate government need to know our pron habits.
* Sharing biometric data (which must be submitted to get the ID) with police departments erodes our right to just walk around the city without being tracked everywhere. There is no legitimate government interest in mapping all the movements of private citizens who are just going about our day.
* The eID system relies on US companies, who have, at the behest of Trump, just cut off people in political work they don't like. What happens when the US government deicides that all trans people, everywhere on earth are invalid? What if they decide to pressure Europe about Greenland and just cut off the entire continent? If we outsource the regular actions of our government to the US, then we are governed partly by them and continually subject to their veto.
* Irregular migration is not a "problem" to be "solved", but it's also true that millions of British citizens would be negatively impacted by this. And in places where ID systems like this have been deployed, they have had no measurable impact on migration. This has extreme totalitarian use cases, but none of those impact migration in a meaningful way.
@celesteh I found that so demoralising to complete. The questions are blatantly biased towards it being such a universally fab idea that you have to repeat yourself in every answer.
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@celesteh I found that so demoralising to complete. The questions are blatantly biased towards it being such a universally fab idea that you have to repeat yourself in every answer.
Yeah, it was grim and time consuming and heavily nudged.
But well done on completing it! You did the right thing.
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Ok, so:
An Orthodox Jew goes on holiday in the UK. She has pre-booked at an all-inclusive resort. Friday night dinner comes with an alcoholic beverage.
She cannot use a digital ID on Friday night because it's shabbat.
Therefore, she can't have any alcohol with her shabbat dinner on her holiday.
This is not a far-fetched scenario at all. Everybody goes on holiday occasionally. People travel. They like a drink with dinner on special days.
But this is the rule that the UK government wants to introduce. Worse holidays.
Join the club! The did-the-consulation club of UK voters and residents.
Being a club member entitles you to being offered cups of tea by friends over the next several days!
Join today!
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