Bad IDea?

I recently came across the Conservative Party’s online campaigns section. One such campaign is entitled ‘Bad IDea’, setting out a range of arguments against the Government’s phased introduction of identity cards. In the place of the proposed scheme, it is suggested the money is spent on more prison places, more prisoner drug rehabilitation, and a Border Police Force.

Such a campaign is no doubt popular, and reflective of the sense of concern that exists in the UK around ID cards. However, such is the strength of the anti-ID cards campaign that biometric technologies, an essential component of an ID cards system, are being tarred with the same brush.

One argument against ID cards is that once somebody’s card is lost, and with it their biometric identity, it cannot be replaced. Certainly, we are all born with only one set of fingerprints. However, an ID card need not store all the data of a fingerprint. The Treasury recently commissioned a review of the potential private sector uses of the ID card procurement scheme, in which it quite sensibly recommended the amount of data stored should be minimised. For example, only-non unique digital representations of biometric images should be stored.

A more balanced argument, highlighting such safeguards, may be to the benefit of everyone. At the very least, it should move the debate forward.