Barcode Nation

There’s an interesting post over at the Expat Focus blog on the experience of British people living in countries where carrying ID is mandatory.
 

Even in EU countries some police officers view it as suspicious and then you have two things going against you - firstly you’re a foreigner and secondly a foreigner without identity! The [...]

Leading transsexual activists have criticised the government’s plans for identity cards. 
 
Gender Spectrum UK has launched an online petition aimed at ensuring the safety of people “who present themselves in a manner which is not the same as the gender to which they were assigned at birth.”

Current proposals will allow those undergoing treatment to change their [...]

Every so often it’s good to take time out and remember just why we campaign so relentlessly to protect our human and civil rights.
 
In case your motivation is on the wane, have a read of the Guardian Weekly’s report on Sri Lanka’s Civilian Tragedy. Here’s an excerpt:
 

“These days I often visit the north of Sri [...]

The first UK ID cards have already been issued - but UK authorities have no way of reading the data stored on them.
An FoI request by Silicon.com revealed that no police stations, border entry points or job centres have readers in place for the card’s biometric chip.
Cambridge University security expert Richard Clayton told silicon.com:
“If this [...]

The Number10 ePetitions website was set up some time ago to allow the public to get together and demand a response from Government on an issue. This one caught my eye:
 

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to hold a referendum on ID cards and the National Identity Register
 
In view of the government’s inability to [...]

The great and the good (sic) of the world’s identity technologists will come together in Abu Dhabi in February. The Citizen ID Forum describes itself as “the global symposium on the digitalisation of citizen identification documents”
A similar event held in 2008 was described thus:
“It really gave us the opportunity to see the best technologies available [...]

The Government are advertising in the Sunday Times for a commissioner to oversee the controversial ID cards.

The family of illegal immigrants busted last year for running a fake passport factory in London have been jailed.
 
The police haul included 60 blank Spanish passports, 150 Portuguese passports, 32 Italian passports, 200 blank Portuguese identity cards, 150 UK national insurance cards, £1,400 in cash and a variety of forged utility bills.

The ringleader received a five-and-a-half year [...]

The Guardian has published a very useful guide to the Identity Cards Act 2006. As well as describing the main provisions of the act, the article goes on to discuss the background leading up to it and significant coverage of the criticisms, notably from Liberty and NO2ID.
Well worth a read. It’s also a useful link [...]

In my post yesterday looking at betting odds for the date of the next general election, I hinted that a change of government could be a positive step for civil liberties campaigners.
 
I’ve now stumbled across this excellent piece from the ever impressive James Graham. He questions where the Conservatives will go with Human Rights if [...]