UPDATE: The Labour Government have rejected mandatory digital ID cards. But the Government is still pushing forward with introducing a giant digital identity system, ‘One Login’, for us all to access basic government services. We still have work to do. Take action today to say no to digital ID.
The Government is introducing a giant digital identity system for all of us to access basic services like tax and benefits.
This system could give the Government a blank cheque to share the personal information of millions of people between government departments. At the same time, the Government is also cultivating a “digital identity market” of private companies that can perform identity checks online.
Ways of proving our identities online can be useful for many people. We all want easy, safe and private ways to prove who we are in the moments when we really need to. But as the government races forward on digital IDs, one obvious feature is missing.
Your right to choose whether to use digital ID.
Digital identity systems pose serious risks to rights, security and equality. We believe that everyone should be able to access the same services with ease – whether or not they want to prove their identity digitally. That is why we’re fighting to give you a choice by putting a “right to use non-digital ID” in law. It would mean that services that require your ID—from the tax office, to estate agents—have to give you a choice whether to prove your identity online or offline.
A right to use non-digital ID is vital to protect privacy and equality in the digital age. If you believe people deserve the legal right to say No2DigitalID, use our template to write to the Government now.
WRITE TO THE GOVERNMENT
Tell the Government to give you the legal right to say #No2DigitalID. Make sure you personalise your email with your own reasoned arguments and feelings about a digital ID system
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FAQs
What would a right to non-digital ID mean for me?
What would be the problem with the introduction of a mandatory digital ID?
What can be done to stop a march towards mandatory digital ID?
The right to a non-digital ID would give us all choice over how we verify our identities and ensure no one feels forced to hand over personal identity data online. It would mean that the government and private companies must allow us to prove our identities in person, and not only online, when we need to prove our identity to access important services like tax assessments or rental agreements. This would be particularly beneficial to people who cannot easily access digital methods, including some elderly, poorer and disabled people, as well as people from other marginalised groups – and the many people who simply prefer not to use digital ID. Ultimately, a right to use non-digital ID would also be a safeguard against a digital ID system becoming mandatory in the future.
At their worst, digital IDs can be misused for mass surveillance, curb people’s’ liberties, predict and shape people’s decisions, and be abused for the tracking, targeting or other differential treatment of ethnic, religious and other marginalised groups.
Mandatory digital ID would also have a serious bearing on equality in the UK. Some people in marginalised, vulnerable and minority groups are more likely to have reduced access to online services (e.g. people with disabilities, low income, low digital literacy levels or limited internet access), particularly where digital identity is a requirement (e.g. migrants, and people in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities).
It’s time to take positive steps to ensure that when it comes to verifying our identities, we have a legal right not to use digital ID. Since the government is now creating a digital identity regulatory system, it should also use the law to protect our right to choose and protect the right to use offline alternatives to digital verification processes. We are working with politicians to amend the Government’s new privacy-wrecking law, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill – but we need your help now. Support the campaign to say #No2DigitalID and write to the Government today.
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