This is an idea thats gaining traction both in government and outside of it. I remember the last time identity cards were mooted, some people thought they were a great idea and we should all have them and show them whenever asked for by an official to show that we really are entitled to things like NHS care etc.
For me the same reasons mostly against then still apply, like who has access to this data and when. Should the police be able to access all my data, medical records, banking, phone calls etc because I've been stopped for a minor traffic offence? Should they be able to access them if I'm accused of a more major crime and if yes which crimes?
Should the DWP and HMRC have access to my my digital records, including if I've ever been convicted of a crime?
Is it any of my doctors business what websites I visit?
Will schools have access to a parents digital identity? Will school records end up on a persons digital ID forever more?
WIll we be able to challenge information on it and have incorrect information removed? Think of how a bad credit rating on your house can effect you.
Would having a digital ID mean that we would not have to have other forms of ID, when opening a bank account, buying a house, starting a college course?
How easy would it be for criminals to fake them?
If your identity was stolen, because someone stole your phone what redress would have, like wise if you lost your phone how would you prove who you are so as you can get your ID back?
One of the reasons given for this idea of digital ID is that 'everyone has a phone', well not everyone does, I don't, my Mum dosen't, she can't even use the stupid phone we've got now let alone a smart one. There are still lots of places where theres no or poor signal, what then? If the government were to bring in such a law then should they give everyone a device, such as a phone where they can keep it and show it when asked, will they run courses off line, face to face in the real world for those of us who don't know how to use them, don't have them and don't want them.
What should the penalties be for refusing to carry such ID, or just having lost it or had it stolen or it needs charging and you need to go out etc?
I can see that there would up sides to it too, like doctors and first responders having access to you medical records instantly, especially if you were unconcious. If it meant goodbye to passports then yippee, also if it meant I don't have to scrabble about trying to find enough of the right sort of ID to do something simple like vote or open a bank account. My Mum can't open another bank account with someone she dosen't already bank with as she has no driving licence, never having been a driver and has no current passport because she no longer goes abroad She has no credit record either as she owes nothing, something else that makes banks unable to give her a credit card for even a couple of hundred pounds.
I think over all I just worry about mission creep and safety and if it will do any good, or will it be just another hoop to jump through?