Students condemn ID cards
Published: 10 Jul 2008 09:30 BST
Young people have condemned ID cards as "illegal" and "creepy" on a website aimed at canvassing their views.
People aged 16 to 25 have been using the MyLifeMyID.org site, launched on Wednesday, to discuss the £4.4bn National Identity Scheme (NIS). So far the vast majority of the comments have been against the project.
Feedback from the site will be put towards tailoring the biometric card to suit young people's needs when they are offered the cards from 2010.
Site forums so far have raised fears about data security and governments abusing the information, despite the glowing assessment of the scheme offered by home secretary Jacqui Smith as she launched the site.
One comment said: "This government ID database gives me the creeps."
Another asked: "How do we protect our British freedoms and put a stop to this totalitarian scheme to control our identities?"
Smith claimed the cards, expected to cost £30, will make it easier for young people to prove their identity when opening a bank account, enrol in college and prove their age in pubs and clubs.
She said the two fingerprints and photograph stored on the card would provide greater protection against ID theft and help fight illegal working, immigration abuse and serious crime.
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Smith said in a statement: "We see ID cards delivering real benefits to young people, which is why their opinions on the cards and how they might use them are so important."
The ID card scheme will be rolled out over the next four years, starting with about 10 million 'critical' workers in 2009, young people in 2010 and the rest of the UK public in 2011-12, when people will have a choice of a passport or ID card.
The launch of the site coincides with the publishing of survey results by the Identity and Passport Service showing that 63 percent of young people support the idea of a nationally recognised form of identity to prove their age.
Credit: ID cards face student scorn from silicon.com
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