HM’s Government is reportedly considering plans for new digital ID cards for British citizens, the bid comes as the PM’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings allegedly aims to transform the Government’s use of data despite privacy fears.
British Citizens would get an online identity that can be used for daily activities such as proving one’s age, registering with a GP and buying properties from a different location.
The move comes after issues emerged in identifying people during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as during the self-employment income support scheme.
The government did not have any details on half of the 2.6million who applied for support at the start of the crisis.
Other politicians such as previous British Prime Minister, Tony Blair have called for new digital ID cards to prove their ‘disease status’ as the world relaxed lockdown measures.
Minister for digital infrastructure Matt Warman told the Times he was excited to ‘work with partners in the private sector’ on the new ID system.
Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez said: “There is a need and an expectation for the government to make it easier for people to use digital identities quickly, safely and securely, and we are committed to enabling this.”
However not everyone has welcomed the plans and some have raised data protection concerns, Matthew Rice of the Open Rights Group said: “If the public don’t trust that their data is going to be secure, they are not going to engage with the system no matter how seamless or frictionless.”
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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