From the Defy-ID Newsletter (Winter 04)
 http://www.defy-id.org.uk

Defy-ID is an adhoc network of groups and individuals prepared for active resistance to increasing state surveillance and the introduction of identity or ‘entitlement’ cards in the UK.

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A BRIEF GUIDE TO THE IDENTITY CARDS BILL

The government is clearly keen to push the ID Cards Bill through
Parliament as quickly as possible. On Monday, 29th November, the Bill had
its formal First Reading in the House of Commons. It was presented by the
Home Secretary at the start of a debate on the Home Affairs portion of the
Queen's Speech. Whilst the debate was not specific to identity cards many
members did raise the issue. The Identity Cards Bill is likely to get a
Second Reading (the first stage of real debate in parliament) before
Christmas.

The Identity Cards Bill could alternatively be known as the National
Identity Register Bill since it seems to be primarily concerned with the
establishment of a national ID database rather than with the issuing of ID
cards. Indeed, it will be possible for the government to create an entry
for you in the National Identity Register without the issuing of an
Identity Card and without your cooperation or knowledge.

David Blunkett recently wrote to a friend (a random unsolicited letter
possibly based on her postcode) to ask her opinion on ID cards. .The
letter, written in an illiberal BNP-esque tone, talked about ID cards as
an aid to stopping terrorism, sex offenders, illegal immigrants, organised
criminals, benefit cheats and prevent failed asylum seekers using services
like the NHS. Crucially, it included the disingenuous information about ID
cards that the government is going to be using to market them to the
public.
"I want to reassure you" Blunkett offers "that the ID cards will not be
used to build up a profile on innocent people or allow your private,
personal information to be used without tight safeguards. The ID card will
hold only very basic details, such as your name, address, date and place
of birth and a finger print or the scan of your eye which securely
establishes your unique identity. The ID card will hold just enough
information to help us in the fight against crime and no more."
Hmmm.
An examination of the bill shows that Blunkett is stretching a point. For
example, it won't just include your full name, but all the names by which
you have ever been known. Not just your address, but all the addresses
you have ever lived at. Not just your finger print or iris scan, but a
photo as well. Also, your National Insurance number, immigration number,
passport number, driving licence number, and, the number of 'any
designated document not covered by the above'. Plus if you want to change
any information (for which they will charge you, or fine you if you don't
change it) the old information also stays on the card.

The ability to check your identity against your entry in the National
Identity Register will not just be available to the Immigration Service
and the Police but also to "providers of public services and private
sector organisations" (e.g. employers, banks, credit reference agencies,
libraries, dentists, utilities companies, student loans company etc). The
ID Card bill includes a power to require 'any person' to provide
information which may be required to conduct background checks on people
applying for ID cards. So in theory they could force anyone to give
information about you. In practice this is likely to be credit reference
agencies, inland revenue, and so on (though they make it clear that they
won't expect this information for free). The Bill also states that if the
info the government receives from this 'person' or organisation differs
from their own records, they'll inform that organisation. So if, for
example, you are running away from debts and tell the government your
address, they can/will tell the credit reference agency who of course will
tell the bailiffs.

Not compulsory?!?!

The government believes that the ID card will be necessary to go about
your daily life. One of the justifications they are using for ID cards is
that they will make the lives of terrorists harder, and according to the
Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) published alongside the bill,
terrorists will need an ID card, "to stay in hotels, rent accommodation,
hire cars, buy mobile phone, and generally carry out their activities"
(p.13). This implies we'll all need ID cards for these purposes. The RIA
also mentions that police can do a 'card not present' check. This means
that the cops will be carrying the means of taking your biometric
information - face, fingerprints or iris - and checking that against the
database to establish your identity. No wonder the carrying of the card is
not to be compulsory - it is not needed to access the information about
you in the Register - only your iris or fingerprints. The Police are
already planning to deploy mobile fingerprint readers. The RIA also
acknowledges that the Register will be a national fingerprint database
that the Police will use to identify suspects in unsolved cases where
there are scene of crime fingerprints that have not been identified.

The RIA suggests that when the existing 'chip and pin' cardreaders, that
have recently been introduced in Post Office and retailers across the UK,
are upgraded in a few years time they could be made compatible with the ID
cards.

You will not be required to use a card unless you wish to work, use the
banking or health system, travel or receive benefits. As Mr Blunkett
advised Parliament: "The issuing of a card does not force anyone to use
it, although in terms of drivers or passport users, or if services -
whether public or private - required some proof of identity before
expenditure was laid out, without proof of identity and therefore
entitlement to do it I doubt whether non-use of it would last very long."

Forgot to change your address? - Criminal!!!

It is important to keep in mind that the card will be buttressed by a vast
array of new state powers and criminal penalties. The Bill creates a score
of new offences including

- refusal to obey an order to register = £2500
- failure to submit to fingerprinting and biometric scanning = £2500
- failure to provide information demanded by the government = £2500
- failure to attend an interview at a specified place and time = £2500
- failure to notify authorities about a lost, stolen, damaged or defective
card = up to 51 weeks in prison and/or a fine
- failure to renew a card = £1000
- failure to attend subsequent fingerprinting and biometric scanning when
demanded = £1000
- failure to provide subsequent information when demanded = £1000
- failure to attend subsequent interview at specified place and time when
demanded = £1000
- failure to notify authorities of any change in personal circumstances
(including change of address) = £1000
- providing false information = up to 2 years and/or a fine

To add insult to injury, many of the offences set out in the Bill are
civil penalties meaning it's unlikely you'll get legal aid to help your
defence.

Limitless spying opportunities

The Bill sets out a number of purposes for the Card and the Register. Some
are more open-ended than others. For example, the card scheme will allow
"the provision of a secure and reliable method for registrable facts about
such individuals to be ascertained or verified wherever that is necessary
in the public interest."

"Public Interest" has a number of dimensions. The Bill defines it as being
"in the interests of national security", "for the purposes of the
prevention or detection of crime", "for the purposes of the enforcement of
immigration controls", "for the purposes of the enforcement of
prohibitions on unauthorised working or employment" and "for the purpose
of securing the efficient and effective provision of public services."

On the face of it, this definition would imply that the card and the
register would be necessary to seek employment, to gain access to health
and other services, and that it would be used by police and immigration
officers in the course of their functions. However the words "for the
purposes of the prevention or detection of crime" could be connected to
financial control and money laundering regulations to provide a means by
which the ID system can be used for an almost limitless range of purposes.
The could include operating a bank account, using professional services
such as a solicitor or accountant, applying for a permit or license,
internal travel, buying property, stocks or shares, applying for credit or
using large amounts of cash.

Data Sharing and the National Identity Register

The Regulatory Impact Assessment says: "as Government services update
their systems over time they could cross-reference their personal
numbering schemes with the NIRN. This would allow ... citizens to quote
just one number in their dealings with different parts of Government". In
other words your NIRN will be used to link all of the data in all of the
government databases, e.g. NHS medical records. What is more, private
companies are also likely to ask for this number which meaning the
information that anyone holds on you will all be referenced with the one
number, making it very easy to access and link up.

How much will it cost me to be controlled and spied upon?

The government estimated in 2002 that the scheme would cost somewhere in
the order of £3.1 billion. When in 2004 the Home Affairs Committee asked
the Home Secretary to clarify the exact amount he refused, citing
commercial secrecy. By the time the final Bill was published in November
2004 the government acknowledged that the cost of the scheme over ten
years would be £5.5 billion. We will pay for this scheme out of our own
pockets. An "enhanced" passport, which includes entry on the national
register, will cost around £85. An ID card without a passport will cost
between £35 and £40. There will be a charge for the renewal or replacement
of cards.

You can download and read the Bill and Home Office reports at  http://www.identitycards.gov.uk