Libertarians host NO2ID speaker

Phil Booth, the national co-ordinator for NO2ID, arrived at Warwick to denounce the growing ‘Database State’. The presentation was hosted by Warwick Libertarians on Thursday 4th March in the Ramphal building, with attendance being dominated by Warwick Libertarian members.
NO2ID is a campaign organisation which focuses on the infringement of civil liberties by the introduction of ID cards.

Prior to Booth’s speech, the majority of the audience were already willing to condemn the proposed compulsory introduction of ID cards in 2012.

Andrew Gimber, research officer of Warwick Libertarians, said, “We carry driving licences with us already, so ID cards seem unnecessary.”

Annie Jackson, a first year Literature and Creative Writing student, and one of the few audience members not from Warwick Libertarians, spoke of ID cards as “restricting personal identity to mere facts and figures. I think of myself as more than just a bunch of statistics.”

The Identity Cards Act received royal assent in March 2006, and cards have subsequently been available to UK citizens living in Manchester, as well as young people living in London. By 2012 all UK citizens over the age of sixteen will be eligible to apply for the card. NO2ID claims that ownership will be made compulsory by 2011. Once a person is issued a card, they are permanently placed on the National Identity Register, which stores all the personal information even after death.

The main issue of contention triggering the response by NO2ID is the invasion of privacy and threat to personal security the cards pose. The cards will hold personal data including name, address, gender, date and place of birth, immigration status, fingerprints, and facial image. This list could possibly extend in the future if deemed necessary by the Home Office. The Home Office website claims the cards will be a more effective check against identity fraud, particularly as the biometric identifier cannot be easily stolen like a PIN number or password. Further benefits cited by the Labour government include: easier tracking of illegal immigrants, closer control over access to free public services, and tighter checks on terrorist groups.

However, NO2ID claims that being placed on the National Identity Register makes criminals out of innocent civilians. Booth claims the cards “entrench the notion that individuals cannot be trusted unless the government says so.” He argues that our security is actually weakened by the introduction of the cards, especially given the fact that biometrics are not 100 percent accurate anyway. Not only is the data subject to misuse if passed into the wrong hands, but being placed on the register would also mean all freedom and civil liberties would be conditional to correct identification. Any errors with the technology could result in citizens being denied access to their rights, property or public services.

Furthermore, Booth described how the security of vulnerable people such as witnesses to serious crime, victims of domestic abuse, refugees from oppressive regimes, terrorist targets, etc. would all be jeopardised if they were forced to reveal their true identities.

NO2ID argues that people often have good reason to conceal their identity, and the state has no right to demand the control of personal information. Booth concluded that ID cards are not really for our security, but are instead for the convenience of the government. He claims that the hypocritical message being transmitted by the government is “You cannot trust others, but you must trust us.”

When asked by the Boar why a defender of the scheme was not also invited to speak at the event, President of Warwick Libertarians, Tom Wales replied; “Supporters [of ID cards] are a lot more difficult to find.”