ID cards. What are your objections & why?

It is increasingly likely, in fact, it is definitely going to happen, that we will all be issued with National ID cards in the near future.





What do you think of this idea? If you are for it - why? And if you are against - why? And if you are not bothered either way - why?

ID cards. What are your objections %26amp; why?
Normally I would not object to ID cards, I used to have on when in the RAF. and I have to carry one for work normally.





But the governments ID card is more than that, it holds too much details about you that the governement cannot be trusted with and it will sell the details off to people. Just take a look a car number plate recognition, they now employ private companies who have access to your details. Is this right, who vets the people who work there? because some of them are low paid and I am sure could easly be bribed.





Secondly the government wants us all to pay for the ID card ourselves, thus it becomes a Tax and thats just not fair.
Reply:There is no point having them. What good do they seriously think they can do? They have had ID cards in South Africa for 40+ years and they have to biggest crime rate in the world. Its a money making swindle.
Reply:I would not be against a card which had my name, date of birth and a photo. Any more than that and it gets dangerous. The government want to charge alot of money for these cards and charge more if anyone's circumstances change or they move addresses - or jobs etc.





I do not trust this government with all my info in one place and certainly do not want it on public display. How long before our medical information would be sold to insurance companies, religious beliefs, educational standards etc. Strangers will know more about me than my immediate family. On the government's website it states that these ID cards would not have to carried all the time - but when will this change? When the government realise they can get more money when people lose them? I also feel that information put on the cards will be that which the highest bidder wants rather than what is necessary.
Reply:we don't have them here, but I would think they would be useful, my sister has one and as she doesn't have a passport, it's useful to travel to Ireland..
Reply:I am against ID cards because I would not trust a member of Whitehall or Government to change my light bulbs never mind hold details on my identity. They could not run a bath! By the time they get round to organising the ID cards the technology will be out of date and it will only be the mainstream of society that will suffer for it. The "underworld" WILL find a way round it - as usual, and the over liberal do-gooders will find an excuse as to why those infringing the ID rules should not be prosecuted or penalised. Information, like people, may be and will be, bought and sold!
Reply:I already carry retired US Marine Corps ID,, driver's license , pilot license passport ND visa what the hell for just waste of time and surely it will have some option to be scanned by SAM
Reply:The one objection that I have is based on the security, or lack thereof in regard to the information on the cards and that held by the government in regard to myself. After all they haven't got such a good record in information protection !
Reply:I'm against it because this government allowed the screwups causing the paranoia that prompted a deman for these damn cards in the first place!





If they wouldn't allow companies to hire illegal immigrants, immigrants who didn't renew their work visas, and would've listened when the FBI and CIA told them there are known terrorists trying to board 747s, the country wouldn't be in this mess overseas or in recession at home.
Reply:Here in Spain we all have to carry them .


They are very useful as proof of identity . (Particularly when shopping !)


I have nothing to hide and have no problem with them.


They prevent a certain amount of identity theft. Nobody can use your credit cards without them. Every card transaction here requires proof of identity. I can´t believ it in the U.K. that I can use my card freely and am not asked to show any other documentation. I could have just found that card on the floor!


I had cheques stolen and cashed with a forged name and false signature in the UK. That wouldn´t happen here.





People are against them because they are something new and different. THey are a good idea in my experience.








edit:


No they won´t prevent gross acts of terrorism but they will stop a huge amount of petty crime.And the cost of that adds up.
Reply:I am for it in principle, but I don't trust those in power to keep my personal details secure.
Reply:I'm not against the principle. ID cards are widespread and common all over the world.





The governments appraoch of trying to "sell" ID cards to the nation as a means of preventing terrorism is a load of cobblers, if you ask me. I do however believe they will be helpful in dealing with criminality on a much lower level.





I am concerned about the cost and practicalities of implementing a national identity card. The recent governmental departments problems with information security are a concern too.
Reply:Totally against it. The idea comes from Europe


and it is just to bring the U.K. in line with Europe.


It can be forged like everything else, so how safe does that make u feel.


http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,3...


The government is not so sure now either. lol.
Reply:I think that this is a great idea.





as long as they have you D O B on as i am sick of being ID and carrying a passport (i don't drive!) is too risky
Reply:Against it. It's another scheme to control people, not to mention a money-making deal.





I've carried an ID card for years. It's called a drivers license and has all the info that is needed. Anything other than my name, address and date of birth is nobody's business but mine.





Some credit card companies are putting microchips in the cards. I'm calling Visa to request one without it.
Reply:In principle I have no objection, although no one has yet explained how it will prevent illegal immigration, benefit fraud and the like. My big objection is that if the government want us to carry it, THEY should pay for it, not impose it and expect us to pay fpr the privilege. Anyhow, given this government's record on "protecting" personal data, how can we trust them?
Reply:I'm going to laugh at the government system from a far. If they send me a card to where I live now I'll throw it away as I'm sure no one will fly to Japan to check if I kept it. The ID card is another waste of taxpayers money by a government who can't think anything through properly. When I was a child I kind of liked my country. Now I have been driven from it by incompetence. I could vote for a different government but they are all useless in the long term anyway. It's better to go elsewhere as far as I'm concerned.
Reply:Im definetly not for it, because there is NO evidence that ID cards actually help track terrorists or reduce immigration, the ID card is an oppertunity for the government to throw away money on what is essentially is a document meant to do the same job as passports, and which will fail. The government needs to adress the issue of how illegal immigrants and terrorists get into the country, for which i would have gladly supported them spending money, and adress the issue at the root, rather than jus buy everyone an id card.
Reply:I have no objections to carrying an ID. card but i will not pay £140 [the current estimated price] for the privilege
Reply:I don't have any objections because having only just turned 18, I know how annoying it is to not have any ID to prove your age. Despite not yet learning to drive, my best option was to pay £40 for a driving licence. ID cards would also be useful where you would need to show a passport or something because some people don't have a driving licence or passport. However, for all the benefits they might bring, I will not buy one at the expected cost which I heard could be as much as £300 as that is beyond rediculous. I moaned about my passsport being over £70!
Reply:I won't be carrying one. I haven't committed any crimes, so why should I be treated like a criminal?





As a previous poster says, Spain has ID cards. But they didn't prevent the Madrid train bombings.
Reply:against it because its a waste of money, another step towards a big brother state and i don't see how they will prevent illegal immigrants coming in
Reply:I have no objection to ID cards, as long as they work and deliver the level of security that is needed. When other similar questions have been asked there is a lot of objection on the grounds that it is an infringement on our freedom. Well some people should wake up and realise that the freedom that we hold so dear is the problem. These freedoms have to be protected from the unscrupulous individuals that want to steal your identity or hide within our society.


Recently someone that we know was arrested for child porn offences, the person was innocent and was eventually cleared of the charges. The FBI had followed an electronic paper trail to this person, because , unknown to them, their identity had been stolen. The person who was falsely arrested lives in the UK, the FBI had become involved and notified British authorities. This could happen to anyone as our freedoms are so easily exploited by criminals and terrorists.


If ID cards will help prevent this kind of incident then we should have them, regardless of costs. Anyone who objects to the principle of defending our freedom and keeping our society secure must have something to hide.


Maybe an ID card with several points of reference is the answer, and any photograph should be held on a data base, so that if the card is scanned the person checking the ID will be able to see if the card holder is genuine. If administered correctly this could be a very effective system and almost impossible to forge, becuase the data will not be held on the card, but on a national data base.
Reply:I dont have a problem with it at all.
Reply:gross waste of money. are the police going to arrest millions of people for not having it on them. no. but it gives the police an excuse to victimise whoever they so please. so if they dont like your face you get thrown in a cell with some psycho.





think it can't happen. look what happened to that poor asian guy they threw into a cell with a known racial killer. yes the guy was murdered in the police cell. that was only a couple of years ago.
Reply:I am totally against ID cards, because I would not trust a member of Whitehall or Government, to change my socks never mind hold details on my identity on a national computer data base.
Reply:Mmm. A photo ID card which contained the same information as your passport and driving licence would be fine with me but that's about all I trust the government with.





But I would strongly object to paying an extortionate price for it.





I've carried an ID card most of my life and it's never bothered me.
Reply:not really bothered..because...


if you are underage and you still get served then you wont have to show your ID





if you are the legal age..then you have your ID to prove it..
Reply:I simply don't see the point of them when we already have photocard driving licences and photo passports.





It is also worrying that our data will be kept in yet another place where no doubt at some point in the future it will be lost and abused.
Reply:They will cost a lot of money but won't deter terrorists or other criminals. Not a good idea, I'd say.