More Proof of Identity

My problem with this proposed compulsory ID scheme for the UK is essentially the same as my objections to the Online Safety Act.  Primarily, neither will actually do what it is claimed they are being implemented for - just as the latter won't 'protect' children from online porn by getting us adults to give our credit card details to sketchy third parties, the former won't do anything to stop the unscrupulous from employing illegal immigrants.  Bearing in mind that these people are happy to employ and exploit immigrants 'off the books' without the documentation currently required to prove a 'right to work', I somehow don't think that they are going to worry whether or not they have digital ID.  You see, that's the point, they are already operating illegally, without regard for employment laws, safety regulations, tax regimes or national insurance contributions.  Unfortunately for the government, they've made this issue the central raison d'etre for their proposals, despite the fact that it is glaringly obvious that it will do absolutely nothing to control illegal immigration.  Because, like those who are happy to employ them, people entering the country without documentation simply don't care - that's why they are illegal immigrants.  If they are desperate enough to attempt Channel crossings in rubber boats, then not having digital ID when they arrive really isn't going to deter them.  

The other big problem, obviously, is that of data protection.  As with the Online Safety Act, the question is just who ends up holding your data, who can access it and how secure is it?  My recent (indeed, ongoing) problems with people hacking into various of my online accounts using login details they've obtained as a result of data breaches on the part of the likes of Meta, Google and Amazon, has highlighted the fact that the main problem with online security is the apparent inability of these organisations to protect our data.  Now, I know that people are going to cite all those pre-existing digital ID schemes in various EU countries that have run for decades without data breaches, but we're talking about the UK here, where, as we know, everything is implemented in the most inefficient and cack handed way possible.  This country's recent history of trying to implement public sector IT based systems simply doesn't fill me with confidence that they can do this without exposing everyone's data to the world.  To get back to the original point - if this scheme can't actually address the main problem its introduction is supposed to address, just what is it for?  Aside from being a distraction from the government's other problems and a desperate attempt to outflank the likes of Farage by being even more repressive and reactionary than them?  We're being told that it will somehow make it easier to access the services we already pay for with our taxes and - strangely enough - already can access without digital ID.  The government really does need to start articulating a far more coherent argument to justify this scheme if they are to convince us that it is anything more than yet another shiny gimmick designed to hog the headlines for a while.