What exactly is the benefit of an ID card over a passport or other existing forms of ID? It’s pretty common knowledge that there will be some form of biometric data stored on passports in the future, so what will be different about an ID card? I fail to see how this bit of plastic will be of any benefit to the general population any more so than the other bits of ID currently available.

When I started a business bank account I had to produce several bits of information to prove who I am, the main one of which was my passport. This proves pretty much without question who I am. Some might argue that the new ID cards will be harder to forge than passports, but exactly what is the point of putting this new infomation all onto one card then, why not simply upgrade the security on passports?

The current arguement being given is that ID cards will prevent ‘identity theft’. This is a load of hogswash (and that is also an excellent word that I suggest you attempt to fit into conversation at some point today). Most ID theft occurs through media such as online transactions or in shops, neither of which have the facilities to confirm the data on an ID card. Given the resistence of the British public to using PIN numbers in shops instead of their signature it’s safe to say that they would hate having their retina scanned every time! Not to mention the simple fact that the technology just isn’t reliable or cheap enough yet.

So what would an ID card help with? Catching terrorists apparently… Although I fail to see how. Unless you make it a crime for people to not carry their cards (potentially making millions of people every day into criminals) then there is no reason to go around stopping people you don’t like the look of and demanding their card. Next, benefit fraud… well, apparently the current system of having a social security number isn’t working well enough, so how about using passports? We already have a system of identification in place that could handle this need, so why do we need to spend all this money on a new one? More on the false finances behind ID cards here.

There are many other drawbacks that I don’t really have the time to write about here, not least because I want to get on with my new animation. It’s going to be a Little Goth Girl episode when it’s finished. I’m hoping to do it in a single week, which might be rather amibitious, but we’ll see!