this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2025
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[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Interesting. In other countries digital ID is treated the same as normal ID card. When I'm buying alcohol I can scan my digital ID or just show my card. No one is forcing anyone to only use the digital one. Are there any indications that the plan is to deprecate physical cards?

[–] thr0w4w4y2@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I’m a risk averse person. I don’t see “in other countries they do X,” rather I think “if this happens and a government gets in whose interests are unaligned with my own, what could they do with this new power I let them have.”

In the case of the UK, the far right is on the rise. Today if a digital ID card is introduced, then probably no one will force me to use it. However in the future that can change.

Let me give you an example: the UK allowed the government to change the law so that it gets to determine who is a terrorist and who isn’t. They don’t need to go to court, or have a judge sign off. They use these powers to silence legitimate protest against a number of issues that inconvenienced the billionaire class.

Imagine attending a protest to call for the government to be held to account for a bad decision it made, and the next day your digital ID no longer allows you to travel to work by train. We are giving them the legal power to do this, if we stand by and do not resist.

Also, I’m lucky enough to be a citizen of the country I live in. Will enforcing some addition “digital proof of citizenship” make the country a better place? Will it make undocumented people decide to leave or simply more desperate/vulnerable? If they get sick, will they be afraid to seek medical care - spreading illness rather than getting treatment.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net -2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I get it but I still think it's more about just being against the government than any realistic risk. You already have to show your ID to buy alcohol or enter some places. The government could simply require shop owners to scan the ID with government app. Digital ID is not needed to monitor where each ID is used. And you don't have to show your ID to use public transport. Just having digital ID doesn't mean it will be mandatory to use it everywhere. They can just as easily require normal ID everywhere. The risks you're describing are basically a big stretch. But I get it, you don't trust this government to do anything so this includes digital ID.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 5 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

You already have to show your ID to buy alcohol or enter some places.

and who cares about that? It's an entirely different situation. the card is not scanned, it is not recorded in a database that you were there. a person just checks it with their eyes.

The government could simply require shop owners to scan the ID with government app.

the point is that it would be a noticeable, suspicious change for more people. but when its dressed as convenience first and then deprecation of "obsolete" "insecure" practices, it is not. then concerns like this can just be handwaved away, that "oh it surely won't happen"

And you don't have to show your ID to use public transport.

in my country you already have to scan your monthly pass, tied to your id. travel information is also persisted for years. they banned paper passes in law.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

in my country you already have to scan your monthly pass, tied to your id. travel information is also persisted for years. they banned paper passes in law.

This just confirms my point. Those practices are not tied to digital ID. You can gather the same data without digital ID and having digital ID does not automatically mean data will be gathered. People simply don't want government to do anything because they don't trust it. And this is fine. I was just wandering if digital ID in itself is a bad idea for some reason but I see it's not.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

Those practices are not tied to digital ID.

Except that they are, so that they can check whether you are the actual owner of the pass.

having digital ID does not automatically mean data will be gathered.

it is gathered, and that is not a question. a screen shows the bus driver your ID number, because on paper everyone should also show their ID for the driver to check that the numbers match. now in reality that rarely happens because it slows down boarding, but your ID is still registered and tied to your pass. the GDPR document also mentions it.

People simply don't want government to do anything because they don't trust it.

thats a nice distraction to tell for yourself, but the transportation company was not governmentally owned when the law came into effect.

was just wandering if digital ID in itself is a bad idea for some reason but I see it's not.

it is, because it makes connecting already collected information to an exact person much easier and impossible to deny, and because computerized tracking is much less visible than if the bus driver or shop keeper would have to jot down your ID number or take a picture with their phone.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 1 points 1 hour ago

Yeah, except not. Where I live every ID has a digital certificate in it or you can install an app which works as an ID and can be verified by 3rd party and at the same time you can just buy a paper bus ticket with cash. What you're describing is a tracking system that works without a digital ID. It's clear digital ID is not a key factor here. But I see you just don't understand this and I can't make this any clearer so we can simply agree to disagree and move on.