Here is a link to my other post where I expressed my thoughts much better, if you are interested you can take a look – https://lemmy.world/post/37101088
Here is a link to my other post where I expressed my thoughts much better, if you are interested you can take a look – https://lemmy.world/post/37101088
What people criticizing digital IDs are missing is that you can just as easily track normal ID cards.
You know why that lower half is formatted like that? That’s for computers to scan.
What’s that? That’s an ID scanner! Oh the horror! We’re all being tracked offline!!!1!
First of all, UK does not have personal IDs, just the good old passports.
Second of all, when you buy alcohol in a shop, do you actually need to scan your personal ID or just show your age on it?
Well, with digital IDs you WILL HAVE TO scan them whether you like it or not, when you need to prove you age or identity, that’s how they work, and that’s how they can track people vs. traditional IDs which are just looked at and sometimes they will scan a physical copy of the id on paper, that’s all.
I’ve only ever seen these scanners in airports. Do you really have them in shops where you’re from??
Good answer, I hope that guy understood.
I appreciate a lot will come down to the implementation, but I haven’t understood the proposal to at all guarantee that checking the ID will require some online check. This is meant to be a ubiquitous ID that we can use anywhere. Would businesses really accept having to use an ID that might not work if there’s a spotty data connection?
My read of it is that it’s intended, in most cases, to work like a railcard or digital bus pass does currently in the UK. Not unlike showing someone your driver’s licence, only the image of it on your phone is guaranteed to be valid rather than needing a specific physical card.
There are a lot of “ifs” and mostly potential downsides. So what are the benefits to this?
Have you ever had issues paying with your credit card due to a spotty data connection? Why would that be an issue with scanning your ID? Especially if the government forces businesses to do this.
Well yeah, that’s to begin with. But it also gives a lot of potential for further surveillance, and for what benefits? Do the benefits really outweigh the cons? Especially when the world is turning fascist? I don’t think so.
How many times have you gone “oh damn I wish it was easier proving my identity than showing my passport or driving licence”?
I think there are some genuine benefits to be had (though reducing illegal immigration is obviously not one of them). I do think there’s potential for a much simpler ID system. One that includes people that don’t drive, and doesn’t include giving your address to a stranger via your driver’s license.
I have had issues with using cards in poor network areas, yes. It seems totally improbable to me that this system ends up using an exclusively online process for sharing ID.
Sure there’s potential that this will result in a mass surveillance system, and I obviously don’t want that, but I guess it doesn’t feel particularly novel. If you’re paying by card you’re logging all your payments anyway. The question on my mind is where you currently see government overreach with exising IDs? Why would a new form of ID guarantee any of that changing?
On your last question, I genuinely do hate handing over either of the existing IDs, as they do carry more information than the receiver generally needs.
We don’t have the scanners in shops. That’s my point. Just because it’s possible to scan an ID doesn’t mean the government will scan them. Even in countries that have digital IDs you still have normal ID cards you can show to verify your age. “You will now have digital ID” and “You will now have to scan your ID at store” are two completely different things. People that claim that they are the same simply don’t understand either of them.
Correct! Different things for now. But can you guess will come next?
This just makes it so much easier to take that next step.
You know governments don’t turn fascist in one move? But we are 100% getting closer and closer.
Or are you so naive to trust your government to never decide to take that next step and require you to scan your id everywhere?
I mean, it’s just your phone that you carry around all the time anyways, not like they’re asking you to bring your passport or national id card, right? They’ll just record that, but no worries mate, as long as you’re not anti-fascist, you’re safe!
That obviously depends on where you live. Spain, Poland or Estonia have had digital IDs for decades now and no one is scanning them anywhere. No one is even mentioning that. If you have an issue with fascist government say that. Mixing the whole concept of digital ID in it just doesn’t make sense.
Couldn’t agree more. Obviously this system is unimplemented and could be abused, but if they wanted to scan your ID at every opportunity they could’ve already given themselves power to do so with other valid forms of ID.
Basically, this is a beta version of what they are going to implement for us.