I've already got a digital ID card!
Discussion
Loading...
Post
@neil and foreign sites are going to process my government digital id? 😱
@neil Prediction:
It will be hated by the Daily Mail and opposed by Torys, who will then implement it with the Mail's support when Labour lose the next election.
It will be hated by the Daily Mail and opposed by Torys, who will then implement it with the Mail's support when Labour lose the next election.
It will be awful and carry advertising, but they will increasingly make it impossible to live without.
People who raise issues such as hacking or not owning a smart phone will be labelled anti-patriotic, elitist traitors.
Farage will invest in the company that writes the software while branding it a backdoor route to dictatorship.
@neil a digital ID is a good idea, but will never be mandatory. Only people who can manage an ID may have one, that's ok. In the Netherlands, some people are assigned 'authorised person' for people who can't manage a digital ID. Works fine, but it is an option for organisations to facilitate authorized persons. That is where things go wrong. Make it mandatory to support authorised persons. That's a start.
@neil gov could supply everyone, at 18, with a yubikey
@neil The W3C Verifiable Credentials data model would be a good candidate for this as it allows for selective disclosure...
@neil almost certainly android (probably Google only) and iOS only
@neil Nepal’s decision highlights a global tension: **How do countries regulate big tech without becoming censors themselves?** On one hand, platforms like Facebook and X have *plenty* to answer for. On the other, **cutting off access** feels like a step toward digital isolation.
It’s a reminder of why **decentralized platforms** (like Mastodon) are so important—they can’t be shut down by a single government. But until they’re mainstream, users are caught in the crossfire.
P.S. Honestly, my dream solution? Ssocial networks into public ownership—because let’s face it, the current model is broken. Until then, this 😂 (but true) song sums it up perfectly:
😉🇯🇵 フェイスブックを規制しろ! 🇯🇵
#SocializeTheInternet#DeleteFacebook#TechSatire
#DecentralizeTheWeb#Nepal#SocialMediaBan
@neil
If it's digital what would the government do with the small percent of people without the means or ability to possess a digital ID? 🤔🤷♂️
@neil
As it is, I carry a government photo ID for driving.
As it is, I carry a government photo ID for driving.
And a separate digital photo ID for my Railcard (which is issued by a body that's essentially an arm of government).
And I have a separate digital ID for my HMRC tax account.
And a GHIC health insurance card.
And another digital app for my NHS account.
Could these all be brought together somehow? And would that actually be "better"?
@neil
Will I be invited to visit my local library where a member of staff can assist me in generating a personal certificate and a certificate signing request?
Will I be invited to visit my local library where a member of staff can assist me in generating a personal certificate and a certificate signing request?
Then someone in the council can sign it for me.
Or are key signing parties not a thing any more?
@neil @lproven I've seen various arguments that ID cards (or more correctly, a single, comprehensive list of who lives in the UK) would be beneficial to reduce a lot of rework in nation-wide services such as healthcare records, electoral register, even reducing a lot of the faff around the census.
Hey - if it also results in the demise of creepy services like Experian (as such services are often used for basic queries like "does this person exist" - a national database/ID cards would answer that without needing the commercial organisation), I'd probably be in favour.
But I do get people's hesitation and concern for over-reach.
@neil @lproven I have had to prove my identity recently - to engage the services of a solicitor, to pass a DBS check, to file accounts and confirmation statements with companies house, to view my corporation tax account. They have all recently started requiring the Gov ONE login or whatever it's called.
@neil likely this form: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64f707cf512076037f612f60/t/6841899eee8b0741ea8756a7/1749125534854/Final_BritCard_Labour+Together.pdf
it's a paper published by a think tank that is very close to the gov't.
in addition, one of the minister came back from Estonia and he was impressed with its digital ID infrastructure, wishing to implement similar one in UK
@neil looks legit.
@neil I feel fairly sure it would just be Android and IOS mobile platforms but maybe some web recourse for those weirdos (me) who don't/won't/can't install apps on mobile platforms
@neil I'm more interested in how thats gonna work for the people who aren't using an OS.
@neil
That is backwards, Neil, and if I may say so it's a very _very_ silly comment indeed.
The UK does not have official ID, so _of course_ you are not asked for it.
Duh.
The rest of the EU has ID cards, and they make life easier. I lived in Czechia for nearly a decade and I was asked for it almost every day. Register for a doctor? ID please. Bank account, currency exchange, buy a season ticket for public transport, buy alcohol if young... ID please. Turn up for job interview: receptionist asks for ID.
It is illegal to go more than 10 metres from your house (or something) without ID. So you can empty the bins, but not walk the dog.
Boons: no fooling around with bank statements, bills, etc. You can travel all the Schengen area with no passport, just your ID card. A French mate of mine lived & worked in Czechia for 15 years and he's never held a passport.
The privacy wonks can GTFO. ID cards are ubiquitous across the modern world outside our backwards backwater _and they make life easier._
@neil looks very digital to me.
@neil EU is already working on some terrible shared proprietary app for this:https://www.dock.io/post/eu-digital-identity-wallet
@neil Honestly I think most countries should have something similar to Estonia's E-ID setup long ago, as it renders fake IDs "effectively impossible" if validation is easy enough (Although AFAIK the US fake ID problem is a lot worse than in the UK, due to the drinking age being 21 and extremely strict enforcement and controls)
Depending on the exact requirements, I'd go for a cross between e-passport and PIV, which are both standardized protocols: e-passport for the "this document is an Authentic Government Document with These Details" part, and optionally a PIV component for authenticating to services/digitally signing paperwork using the card.
(And if NFC is a thing, a password derived from printed details to get any identifying info, same as an e-passport)
@neil The real question is how would it work. Will the government be making a common but unwarranted assumption that we all have smartphones (I for one do not) or will it be like my passport? There is also the assumption we carry digital(or any) identification currently. I carry a chip and pin bank card but that is the only type of digital ID T routinely have and it is not designed as personal validation.
I've already got a digital ID card!
@neil Give everyone a Yubi Key? As you say, what could possibly go wrong...
@neil
"People who use Linux are in favour of touching kids" -- The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, probably
@neil I've got one. I paid extra for it and requested it specially. It was one of the boons of getting my 2nd Irish passport.
Life in much of the EU revolves around your ID card. It is _so_ useful. I tell people about the UK's "three proofs of your address" BS and they look at me like I've stepped out of the Stone Age. It's like listening to Americans talking about using cheques.
ID cards, for all, the sooner the better.
bonfire.cafe
A space for Bonfire maintainers and contributors to communicate
Automatic federation enabled