Do I need a Digital identity card?
The government’s proposal for a mandatory Digital ID—dubbed a ‘Brit Card’ by some—has resurrected the rancorous identity card debate, merely exchanging a physical threat to liberty for a digital one. While proponents champion the scheme as a progressive solution for securing borders and streamlining public services, critics from across the political spectrum condemn it as an authoritarian “checkpoint society”. Civil liberties groups warn that centralising such sensitive personal data creates an irresistible target for hackers and risks “scope creep”—an inevitable expansion towards mass surveillance and exclusion of the digitally disadvantaged. The public backlash, including a petition attracting over a million signatures, suggests that for many Britons, the promise of convenience is simply not worth the perceived price of freedom.