[LINK] Britain begins ID procurement

[Roger Clarke]

At 14:31 +1000 10/8/07, Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
https://homeoffice.bravosolution.com/esop/toolkit/notice/public/tender.do?caller=0&tenderId=tender_17806

>http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22220727-24169,00.html
>Ministers say the cards carrying fingerprint, iris and 
>face-recognition technology, are vital to fight terrorism, serious 
>organised crime and illegal immigration.

Remarkable.  A couple of Home Secretaries ago (i.e. fairly recently), 
a bloke called Clarke (no relation) said emphatically that the card 
would *not* contribute to counter-terrorism efforts.


>The cards, which will involve one of the world's largest IT schemes, 
>have drawn much criticism, with opponents saying they will infringe 
>civil rights and be a costly flop.

But, as Bernard pointed out, Australia Card Mark II is considerably 
more complex, and hence would be an even more serious infringement 
(should it work), but is far more likely to be a mega-costly 
mega-flop.


>ID cards are used in about a dozen European Union countries but are 
>not always compulsory and do not carry as much data as those planned 
>for Britain.

That's a serious misrepresentation.  Many have 'inhabitant 
registration schemes', and many have a multi-function number akin to 
our TFN.  But Denmark and Finland are the only two European countries 
with anything resembling the tool-for-totalitarians that the UK and 
Australian Governments are talking about imposing on their citizens.


-- 
Roger Clarke                  http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

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Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW