Debate on ID cards

Ideas for a debate on ID cards ....

Debating for and against
Exploring some arguments for and against “Identity Management solutions”

For

In order to avoid identity theft and to fight fraud, there should be a way to prove a person’s identity.

 

 

 

Against

Identity document: cost of setting up and administering would be very high. It was being suggested that each individual would have to pay up to £90 for the proposed UK ID card.

However, other countries manage much smaller costs – in Chile the ID card only costs up to £6 and in Venezuela an ID card is free.
Every human being already carries their own personal identification in the form of their DNA, which cannot be falsified or discarded. An official identity card would be a lesser evil than the risks to privacy if a person's genetic profile were used for ID. National system unnecessary: the private marketplace already provides a variety of trustworthy ID systems.

Lack of agreed rules could however, lead to problems. For example, in Sweden private companies such as banks refused for security reasons to issue ID cards to those without a Swedish ID card, which forced the government to start issuing cards.
It makes it easier to use both government and commercial services if there is an agreed common system to establish your identity.
Official over-use:
A centralised database could be used to track anyone's movements and private life, endangering privacy.

The proposed UK ID card would involve a series of linked databases, to be managed by the private sector, which many believe could be misused.
People worry about terrorism. ID monitoring would make life easier for normal law-abiding peiople. Unofficial abuse:
It is difficult to keep databases secure. If an ID system recorded religion, ethnicity, sexuality or politics, it could be misused to locate and harass people.