By Andy McCue, 30 January 2006 12:35
NEWS ID card critics have slammed government plans to include RFID-style tracking tags on the controversial cards, saying they will be a "snooper's paradise".
Home Office minister Andy Burnham told parliament just before Christmas that ID cards will not contain RFID chips but will contain radio frequency contactless chips.
The paper-thin RFID-style chip is already set to be embedded in the new ePassports, in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organisation guidelines for international travel documents, and can be read by a scanner without the need for the document to be swiped through a reader.
But a row has now broken out over how far chips need to be from scanners for their data to be read. ID card critics have dismissed Burnham's claim that chips can only be read if they are a few inches away from scanners, arguing that signal boosters enable data to be accessed from much further away.
Phil Booth, national co-ordinator for the No2ID campaign group, said in a statement: "The chips will broadcast actual personal details held on the card, not just a number. This technology will make the cards a snooper's paradise."
A leading peer tasked with reviewing the government's anti-terrorism laws has also backtracked on his initial support for ID cards, now saying they will be of "limited value" in fighting terrorism.
In an interview with GMTV, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Carlile questioned whether ID cards would be a proportionate response to boosting national security in terms of the cost and infringement of privacy.
He said: "There may be a gain from the security viewpoint in the curtailment of civil liberties but parliament has to be the judge about whether the proportion is right."
The House of Lords last week blocked the government's ID cards bill over the cost of the scheme and plans to make it compulsory for citizens to be put on a national identity register when applying for a passport.
Comments
There are 5 comments. Join the discussion
1. Roger Huffadine
RFID - Bring it on!!
I'm all for RFID in ID cards - because that will hasten their demise. Anything that is contact-less like this is open to snooping and because IDs are valuable they will be easily stolen.
One can also easily destroy RFID devices with not very powerful pulses of RF so now urban terrorism can extend to any shopping centre - once a terrorist group decide to blow away a few thousand ID cards in a day, the people who have to pay £100 for a new card will worry about shopping in a town centre, causing economic chaos.
No longer would one need explosives to cause fear - a few hundred simple home made devices in the wrong hands would cause massive disruption and bring the ID scheme into disrepute.
Even the concept of contact-less passports is a bit dumb because that person who just brushed past you in the airport may well have stolen your details.
I am no longer amazed by the stupidity of our politicians but it does make me very sad.
2. Radical Meldrew
If RFID tags are such a good idea then let all the pro ID Card minsters trial them by volunteering to be 'chipped' (I can suggest a suitable place!)
They can then be tracked to see if the system is worthwhile with the added bonus that they can be checked upon to ensure that they are doing their jobs properly.
Imagine the outcry in Westminster, the scheme would be dropped immediately.
3. Chris Goodman
As usual neither the Government ministers nor their supposedly highly skilled, grossly blinkered and somewhat overpaid senior Civil Service mandarins have really given the matter a study from an overview position.
While the arguements rage about the "ID Card", they are all forgetting that the obscenely expensive ID Card is only to be a carrier of information about an individual, to be carried and produced by that individual.
Surely it would be more efficient a,d far cheaper to transplant actual RFID type chips into an individuals bone, maybe implanted into the marrow of a thigh bone. This would be extremely unlikely to be lost, would be much, much cheaper and, most importantly of all, would enable the RIGHTFUL AUTHORITIES to identify everyone at any time. For instance, it would make it hazardous for one to mix with the wrong company such as rent boys without this information being rapidly accessed.
But above all, just think of all the money saved by not having ID Cards.
4. Steve Bray
We are being lead into a police state for the sake of security , that is totally dis proportiane to the threat - What happens when the threat is over? will the cards be scrapped? What are the next security steps - Curfews , chip implants, I'm not talking this year or next but every new measure is one closer to the Big Brother State. As soon as one Police State hurdle is overcome the Government have taken you a step clearer to the next and the next and the next..........
This is mandatory for anyone that wants a passport. Bad news for a democratic society - The terrorists have won by changing our way of life - Millions have died for our democratic rights and freedom. The deaths of less than 100 in the UK as terrible as it was should not have out weighed the deaths of millions who fought for our freedom.
I will lose my right to travel - I will never carry an ID card or allow myself to be entered into the dreaded database.
5. anonymous
It's is nice to know that a catering operative in the departure lounge will be able to collect the name and address of each customer as they are about to leave the country. The increase in burglaries alone will dwarf all the direct costs of the scheme.