Britain's The Register reports that the current British Identity Card proposal is likely to “bite the dust” because of the impending election and resistance by opponents in the House of Lords. The Scottish Parliament has also apparently lined up against the ID scheme. Meanwhile, the Tory party seems set to withdraw support, with one group of Tories attacking the scheme as a “con trick“. Another headline reads, “UK gov ready to u-turn on passport-ID card link?“.
This is all more writing on the wall. Governmental authorities should come together with privacy advocates and those in the software industry who understand advanced identity technology alternatives. Together, we should propose systems which can be shown to protect the privacy of citizens and reduce the risk of identity theft – while serving the needs of government, individual citizens, business and community organizations for a safer and more capable Internet.
