Information Commissioner on ID cards

Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, has again formally expressed his concerns at the government's plans for ID cards. He concludes:

"The measures in the Bill go well beyond establishing a secure, reliable and trustworthy ID card. The measures in relation to the National Identity Register and data trail of identity checks on individuals risk an unnecessary and disproportionate intrusion into individuals' privacy. They are not easily reconciled with fundamental data protection safeguards such as fair processing and deleting unnecessary personal information. An effective ID card can be established avoiding these unwarranted consequences for individuals as research has shown. The primary aim of Government with this legislation should be to establish a scheme which allows people to reliably identify themselves rather than one which enhances its ability to identify and record what its citizens do in their lives. The Commissioner hopes that during the passage of the Bill parliamentarians will not just focus on the desirability of ID cards but look into the acceptability of government recording so many unnecessary details of their own and their constituents' lives."

Government response? Yada, yada, yada... got my fingers in my ears... don't want to hear it... DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT... NOT LISTENING.

Thanks to Caspar Bowden for the link.

Here's a suggestion for the next big reality TV project - how the OU/BBC Child of Our Time series, presented by Robert Winston, can provide insights to the workings and psychology of government.