ID cards face student scorn

Young people have condemned ID cards as "illegal" and "creepy" on a website to canvas their views.

People aged 16 to 25 have been using the site MyLifeMyID.org, launched today, to discuss the £4.4bn National Identity Scheme (NIS). So far the vast majority of the comments have been against the project.

Silicon.com's A to Z of ID Cards

A is for Act
B is for Biometrics
C is for Compulsory
D is for Data privacy worries
E is for EDS
F is for Forgery
G is for Government IT
H is for Home Office
I is for Identity and Passport Service
J is for Jury
K is for Hong Kong
L is for London School of Economics
M is for Money
N is for National Identity Register
O is for Other cards
P is for Passports
Q is for Quarter
R is for Refuseniks
S is for Self-destruct
T is for Terrorist
U is for Utility bill
V is for Verification
W is for When
X is for Xenophobia
Y is for Young people
Z is for London Zoo

Feedback from the site will be put towards tailoring the biometric card to suit young people's needs when they are offered the cards from 2010.

Site forums so far have raised fears about data security and governments abusing the information despite the glowing assessment of the scheme offered by home secretary Jacqui Smith as she launched the site on Wednesday.

One comment said: "This government ID data base gives me the creeps."

Another asked: "How do we protect our British freedoms and put a stop to this totalitarian scheme to control our identities?"

Smith claimed the cards, expected to cost £30, will make it easier for young people to prove their identity when opening a bank account, enrolling in college or proving their age in pubs and clubs.

She said the two fingerprints and photograph stored on the card would provide greater protection against identity theft and help fight illegal working, immigration abuse and serious crime.

Smith said in a statement: "We see identity cards delivering real benefits to young people, which is why their opinions on the cards and how they might use them are so important."

The ID scheme will be rolled out over the next four years, starting with about 10 million "critical" workers in 2009, young people in 2010 and the rest of the UK public in 2011/12, when people will have a choice of a passport or ID card.

The launch of the site coincides with the publishing of findings of a survey by the Identity and Passport Service showing that 63 per cent of young people support the idea of a nationally recognised form of identity to prove their age.