8 June 2008
Privacy campaign NO2ID [1] welcomed the publication today of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report "A Surveillance State?" [2], and pointed out that the report's recommendation that government
should adopt a "minimisation of data" principle ought to lead to the scrapping of the National Identity Scheme.
The Committee's is the third official enquiry in four months to raise
fundamental objections to the scheme. (The others were the report of
Sir James Crosby for the Treasury [3], and the Independent Scheme Advisory Panel of top technology managers [4].)
While it does not re-examine the identity cards proposals in detail
(it issued a very critical report as long ago as July 2004[5]), and
accepts the existence of the scheme as part of the existing machinery
of (potential) surveillance, the Committee does consider the scheme
and other government databases among the principal surveillance
threats, and its primary recommendation on government handling of
personal data is obviously applicable:
"The Government should give an explicit undertaking to adhere to a principle of data minimisation and should resist a tendency to collect more personal information and establish larger databases. Any decision to create a major new database, to share information on databases, or to implement proposals for increased surveillance, should be based on a proven need." (p.7)
The National Identity Register, the database behind ID cards, would
facilitate the sharing of personal information held by government. A bewildering variety of purposes have been suggested. But any evidence of need, or of cost effectiveness for those purposes, or any
explanation of the intended functions in practice, has been lacking.
The Identity and Passport Service is running a consultation exercise
ending this month asking the most general questions about what might be wanted from the scheme [6].
Guy Herbert, General Secretary of NO2ID said:
"Minimisation of data is common sense for both privacy and security. A pity then, that the National Identity Scheme offers precisely the opposite. Its whole conception is to join together as much personal information possible and keep it available forever – maximisation of data."
The Government seems to think that if it has made the legislation it doesn't need to explain anything. But grinding on with its mass surveillance database projects in the face of these recommendations would be astonishing arrogance. "
-ENDS-
Notes for editors
1) NO2ID is the UK-wide non-partisan campaign against ID cards and the
database state. See http://www.no2id.net/dbstate.php for a list of
'database state' initiatives that NO2ID is actively opposing.
2) A Surveillance Society? – Fifth Report of the Session 2007-2008 (8
June 2008)
3) 'Challenges and Opportunities in Identity Assurance', is available here:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/6/7/identity_assurance060308.pdf
See also: NO2ID commentary "Crosby sets out 10 ID principles – Home
Office scheme breaks all of them" (7 March 2008)
http://www.no2id.net/news/pressRelease/release.php?name=Crosby_10
4) The panel consists of top IT experts from large commercial concerns
such as Tesco:
http://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/downloads/ISAP_Annual_Report.pdf
See also NO2ID press release: "Buried news: Government advisors savage ID scheme" 7 May 2008 - for more discussion
http://www.no2id.net/news/pressRelease/release.php?name=Buried_news
5) Home Affairs Committee - Fourth Report of the Session 2003-2004
(20th July 2004)
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmhaff/130/130.pdf
6) See Consultation on the Delivery of the National Identity Scheme
https://www.ips.gov.uk/identity/NIS-delivery-plan-2008.asp
For more information, or for immediate or future interview, please contact
Phil Booth (National Coordinator, national.coordinator@no2id.net) on
07974 230 839
Guy Herbert (General Secretary, general.secretary@no2id.net) on 07956
544 308
Michael Parker (Press Officer, press.officer@no2id.net) on 07773 376 166.
The NO2ID Campaign
Box 412
19-21 Crawford Street
London W1H 1PJ
enquiries@no2id.net
Tel: 07005 800 651
Press: click here
