your plastic please – the british id card plan
ID card plans ‘badly thought out’ [bbc, july 30, 2004]The official committee report says ID cards can make a significant contribution to fighting crime and coordinating access to public services.
The scheme will change the relationship between citizens and the state, but potential benefits outweigh such concerns, it says.
the full report [pdf] is available from the bbc.
this is apparently a big story for our friends across the pond, with substantial coverage on everything from the cost of implementing the plan to the privacy implications to the behind-closed-doors development of the plan.
national id cards are sold as protection from terrorists and criminals. i think it’s just another example of a technology solution to a human problem.