ID Card

An I D Card or identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person’s personal identity. There have been and still are, arguments by various official and unofficial bodies, indicating that the adoption of these cards as statutory would be advantageous for a number of reasons. The universal adoption of identity cards is supported by law enforcement officials who claim that it will make surveillance and identification of criminals easier. However, concern is also expressed about the extensive cost and potential abuse of hi-tech smartcards. In the United Kingdom, government issued identity cards, or more precisely, their centralised databases are a source of debate as they are regarded as an infringement of privacy and civil liberties. Most criticism is directed towards the enhanced possibilities of extensive abuse of centralised and comprehensive databases’ storing sensitive data. A 2006 survey of UK Open University students concluded that the planned compulsory identity card under the Identity Act 2006 coupled with a central government database generated the most negative attitudinal response among several alternative configurations.