An identity crisis

A surprising take on identity cards over at The Telegraph

Latest Link: Telegraph An identity crisis

The issue of national identity cards is being raised again. What I am surprised about is this piece in The Telegraph – I thought they would be in favour of ID cards.

See also BBC NEWS: ID cards will ‘infringe civil liberties’. In all the hysteria about terrorism and ID cards, it is worth reminding ourselves that, “The terrorists who committed the atrocities in America on September 11 had legal papers”.

Still, I am unsure what to think about the whole ID card issue. What is telling is that, according to Charter 88, “Countries that already have identity cards have a written constitution and have those rights protected – we don’t”.

(Related: Entitlement Cards)

Entitlement Cards

The consultation period for comments on the introduction of ID cards in the UK is coming to an end

A lot of the blogs I read regularly have highlighted STAND and there seems to be a lot of negative feeling about the introduction of identity/entitlement cards in the UK. I am very undecided as I think they could make so many things easier.

It’s disappointing that there are not more privacy controls in place to make illegal use/access of the data a criminal offence. It’s also very worrying that there doesn’t seem to have been more debate about them and greater publicity surrounding the consultation period. I feel it’s important to add my voice but do I have time to sensibly consider my own thoughts on the matter? I just don’t know what to say. [consultation]