Tag: digital id

Swiss Voters Adopt Digital-ID Scheme

In a nationwide referendum on Sunday, Swiss voters narrowly adopted a digital-ID proposal put forth by the nation’s federal government.

The proposal, formally titled the “Federal Act on Electronic Proof of Identity and Other Electronic Evidence (E-ID Act, BGEID),” passed with 50.39 percent of the popular vote. Notably, a majority of cantons (the Swiss equivalent to states in the United States) voted against the proposal (15.5 against, versus 7.5 in favor, including half cantons). Since the referendum did not involve a constitutional amendment, however, the proposal did not require a majority of cantons to pass.

The now-approved measure creates a government-managed digital-identification system. Under its provisions, users’ data will be stored on their smartphones and used only for identity verification (as opposed to broader purposes), and requires only the minimum information to be revealed to a third party (e.g., when purchasing alcohol at a store). The digital ID is optional; Swiss citizens may continue to use the county’s existing national ID card.

Second Attempt

Sunday’s referendum was the federal government’s second attempt at implementing a digital-ID system. Voters rejected a previous proposal in March 2021, with 64.4 percent voting against it, mainly due to concerns about users’ data falling in the hands of private companies, which would have managed the originally proposed program.

Although the Swiss Federal Assembly (parliament) modified its second proposal to address those concerns, any digital ID poses a fundamental threat to individual freedom and privacy, and would massively increase government’s ability to track citizens’ every movement. Furthermore, digital IDs are part of the United Nations’ totalitarian Agenda 2030 plan to impose central planning on a global scale, and the UN and Bill Gates are working to implement a “digital public infrastructure.”

Additionally, conservative groups opposed to the measure argued that a digital ID would eventually become mandatory, and that any system still risked handing over citizens’ data to large companies and being used for purposes beyond simple identity verification.

Unexpected Opposition

Despite the measure passing, Sunday’s referendum result was significantly narrower than expected. The proposal passed the Federal Assembly by wide margins — 170-25 in the National Council (lower house) and 43-1 in the Council of States (upper house) — with only members of the conservative Swiss People’s Party and two minor affiliated parties objecting.

Although opponents gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the legislation, polling suggested that nearly three-fifths of voters would support it. Ultimately, the measure barely passed, and was rejected by majorities in most cantons.

Swiss media and analysts saw the narrow passage as resulting from high turnout by conservative opponents of the measure. Swiss public broadcaster Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen analyzed that the result “should give the Federal Council and the parliamentary majority pause for thought,” and “is not a good sign for other digitization projects in Switzerland.”

Dangers of Democracy

Sunday’s referendum illustrates the dangers of democracy, specifically of the majority imposing its will on the minority, even if it infringes on the latter’s individual freedom. Although opposition to a digital ID was widespread — voters in a majority of cantons opposed the concept — this potentially far-reaching policy became law with only a 50.4-percent popular majority.

Switzerland, whose current system incorporates direct democracy, holds nationwide referendums up to four times a year. Despite now being accepted as foundational to the Swiss political system, nationwide referendums were virtually nonexistent before the 1870s, more than 20 years after Switzerland became a federal state. Notably, once Switzerland adopted federal direct democracy, it quickly inspired multiple U.S. states to do the same in the form of “citizens’ initiatives.”

The U.S. Founding Fathers recognized the dangers of democracy, and instead created the U.S. federal government as a constitutional republic. For example, James Madison wrote in The Federalist, No. 10, “Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.”

The word “democracy” is nowhere to be found in the Declaration of Independence or Constitution — and this is intentional. In contrast, Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution requires each state to have “a Republican Form of Government.”

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UK Pub Transformed Into 1984 Theme Park In Protest Of Starmer’s Digital ID Dystopia

A landlord in the UK has renamed his pub ‘The George Orwell’ and made it entirely 1984 themed, complete with projections of the dystopian novel’s most memorable themes and phrases along with images of Prime Minister Kier Starmer as the evil Big Brother.

As we have highlighted, Starmer recently announced Chinese communist-style digital tracking is coming to the UK with a new mandatory “right to work” scheme in the form of a universal ID called the “Brit Card”.

It’s all predicated on the back of out of control mass illegal immigration, with the leftists using the crisis created by the previous Conservative government and amplified by Starmer’s cabal in an attempt to rollout Orwellian style surveillance and control.

While they claim the scheme will help to stop “illegal” immigrants from crossing the channel by denying them access to work, the possibilities for control via biometric tracking are endless.

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First the U.K., Next the U.S.? Britain’s Digital ID Plan Should Scare Americans.

The U.K. may be about to get even more dystopian. Prime Minister Keir Starmer proposed a plan last week that would require every adult in the United Kingdom to have a digital ID in order to work in the country, with these IDs becoming mandatory by 2029. Employers would be required to consult an app-based system containing a person’s name, photo, birth date, nationality, and residency status, rather than check physical IDs or National Insurance numbers (the U.K.’s version of a Social Security number) before hiring.

“The proposals are the government’s latest bid to tackle illegal immigration, with the new ID being a form of proof of a citizen’s right to live and work in the UK,” reports Sky News. “The so-called ‘Brit card’ will be subject to a consultation and would require legislation to be passed, before being rolled out.”

In the U.K. and the U.S., authorities already employ an array of government-issued identification mechanisms—passports, physical driver’s licenses, Social Security or National Insurance numbers. So how different could a digital ID be?

Very different, say civil libertarians, privacy experts, and cybersecurity gurus.

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Digital ID UK: Starmer’s Expanding Surveillance State

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer came into office promising competence and calm after years of alleged political chaos.

What has followed is a government that treats civil liberties as disposable.

Under his watch, police have leaned on broad public order powers to detain people over “offensive” tweets.

Critics argue that what counts as “offensive” now changes depending on the political mood, which means ordinary citizens find themselves guessing at what might trigger a knock on the door.

This is happening while mass facial recognition cameras are being installed in public places.

The pattern is clear: expand surveillance, narrow dissent, and then assure the public it is all in the name of safety and order.

Against that backdrop, a digital ID system looks less like modernization and more like the missing piece in an expanding control grid.

Once every adult is forced to plug into a centralized identity wallet to work, rent, or access services, the state’s ability to monitor and sanction becomes unprecedented.

Starmer’s Labour government is dusting off one of its oldest obsessions: the dream of tagging every citizen like a parcel at the post office.

The latest revival comes in the form of a proposal to create mandatory digital ID cards, already nicknamed the “Brit Card,” for every working adult in the country.

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Problem, reaction, solution: Starmer’s digital ID is a solution looking for a crisis

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to announce plans for a compulsory UK-wide digital ID scheme in a speech today, 26 September 2025. Dubbed the “Brit card,” the digital ID is expected to be rolled out by the end of the current Parliament.

An article from 2017 demonstrates that Starmer’s digital ID is a solution that has been waiting for a crisis.

In his announcement today, Starmer will claim his nationwide digital ID is necessary to tackle illegal working and migration by requiring all adults to have a digital ID to prove their right to live and work in the UK.

The excuse today may be to tackle the immigration crisis, but it is the same idea that has been planned for years.  As the 2017 article below shows, eight years ago, digital IDs were being pushed by commercial banks in the UK.  And a global digital ID programme was being planned as a solution for a refugee crisis.

Starmer’s digital ID is a solution that has been waiting for a crisis which could be used to implement it.  It is the Hegelian Dialectic: Problem-Reaction-Solution.  Instead of tackling the illegal immigration crisis, Starmer is pushing their pre-conceived “solution” that has been on the cards for years.

It should be noted that the nefarious group Labour Together called for the government to introduce a “BritCard” in June.  And the equally nefarious Tony Blair Institute has also endorsed the idea, although it advocated for a more expansive model.

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Is the tech giant who gave Blair £257m in line for huge ID card contract? Government embroiled in cronyism row after revelation former PM lobbied for his billionaire backer who could make millions

The Government was tonight embroiled in a cronyism row as it emerged Tony Blair secretly lobbied for his billionaire backer who could make millions of pounds from Labour’s controversial digital ID cards.

Documents seen by The Mail on Sunday reveal the former prime minister urged Business Secretary Peter Kyle to consult a technology institute founded by his friend Larry Ellison in a private meeting last year.

Mr Ellison, the world’s second richest man, has donated or pledged a staggering £257million for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. 

He founded the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), a research centre in Oxford, and is chairman of tech giant Oracle, which has a £700million IT deal with four Whitehall departments.

Experts say Oracle is now in pole position to profit from plans to force millions of adults to sign up for a digital ID card.

And an exclusive MoS analysis can reveal that after Sir Tony’s meeting with Mr Kyle, Mr Ellison’s organisations have enjoyed astonishing access to the very top of Government.

Indeed, staff from Oracle and EIT have met with ministers and senior officials no fewer than 29 times in nine months.

Mr Kyle, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have met bosses from Oracle.

Meanwhile science minister Lord Vallance has met EIT representatives seven times – one was to discuss ‘EIT plans for expansion and alignment with Government’s priorities’, official records show.

Sir Tony has had a decades-long ‘bromance’ with Mr Ellison, who is worth £290billion, and last year enjoyed a lavish Mediterranean holiday on his superyacht.

On Saturday, Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: ‘Despite Keir Starmer’s promises of a ‘crackdown on cronyism’, these revelations show it runs right to the very top of this rotten Labour Government.

‘Tony Blair lobbying Peter Kyle to set up meetings with groups linked to Larry Ellison – now in pole position for the Government’s Digital ID contract – reeks of a blatant conflict of interest. This has all the hallmarks of yet another cosy deal between Labour insiders and powerful vested interests.’

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Britain joins the illustrious ranks of North Korea, China and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan as it announces compulsory ID cards: Countries that enforce Big Brother rules – and how they punish those who disobey

Britain will join the illustrious ranks of North Korea, China and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan by declaring it compulsory for every citizen to have a government-issued digital ID card.

The ‘BritCard’ is a fresh attempt by Sir Keir Starmer to clamp down on illegal immigration, allowing the government to clearly verify a citizen’s right to live and work in the UK.

The plan, which is expected to be announced fully in a speech on Friday, will likely be subject to consultation before coming into action.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is already supportive of the idea, which will require anyone enrolling in a new job to first present the digital ID to potential employers.

The card would then be automatically checked against a central database of those entitled to work in the UK – weeding out people who have tried to fake their physical ID documents to get a job.

‘My long-term personal political view has always been in favour of ID cards,’ Ms Mahmood said.

‘We do have to deal with the pull-factors that are making the UK a destination of choice for those that are on the move around the world,’ she continued.

‘I want to make sure that we can clamp down on that. I think that a system of digital ID can also help with illegal working enforcement of other laws as well. I do think that that has a role to play for dealing with our migration.’ 

But the Prime Minister was understood to have reservations about the scheme, over fears it infringes upon civil liberties.

In fact, compulsory ID cards are a feature of many authoritarian governments around the world, including in Russia, Iran and Belarus. 

In North Korea, Kim Jong Un’s insistence on compulsory identity cards has led some to assume that the measure enables his government to easily hunt down people who have fled the country.

Travelling abroad or moving from one province to another without prior consent remains illegal in Kim’s regime and anyone caught violating the law is risking their life. 

Amnesty International states those convicted of illegal border-crossing in North Korea may be executed. 

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Will I get fined for not having a national ID card, and what if I don’t have a smartphone? How the scheme could work and the massive pitfalls it faces

A Government-issued digital identity card could be required by every adult in Britain under a ‘dystopian’ plan set to be announced by the Prime Minister.

The ‘BritCard’ could be used to prove a person has the right to work in this country, and even to access public services.

The idea of a mandatory identification system has long been advocated by Labour as a way to tackle illegal migration.

But the proposal is fiercely opposed by civil rights campaigners, who warn it will erode civil liberties and turn the UK into a ‘papers please’ society.

Meanwhile, polls show a majority of the public do not trust ministers to keep their personal data safe from cyber-criminals.

Detailed proposals for what has been dubbed a ‘BritCard’ could be announced by Sir Keir Starmer as early as tomorrow.

The Prime Minister will speak at the Global Progress Action Summit in London alongside Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney. 

These plans will then be subject to a consultation and are expected to require legislation. The UK is one of the few countries in Europe without an ID system. 

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China’s internet ID push signals a new era of digital control

On July 15, China passed new legislation known as the National Network Identity Authentication, also called Internet ID.

Under this new law, Chinese citizens would voluntarily enroll via a government app, submitting their true name and a facial scan, after which they would be issued a unique ID code used for all online accounts. As of May, approximately 6 million individuals had already obtained IDs during the pilot phase.

Based upon the nature of the control the Chinese Communist Party has over media and censorship, it is not surprising the Chinese government desires the ability to track its population during their internet sessions, especially those citizens who would be critical of the current regime or dissidents that are living outside mainland China.

The new Internet ID law expands on an ongoing digital authoritarianism agenda pursued by China in recent years. Already, the Chinese government has demonstrated its growing capacity and willingness to monitor its citizens’ online activities. 

From the widespread usage of internet backbone filtering through the “Great Firewall” to the mandatory real-name registration implemented since 2010, Beijing has increasingly restricted avenues for anonymous speech online. The new ID system is designed to further tighten the government’s grip on cyberspace at an individual level.

This law would enable the Chinese government, enabled by the new digital ID system, to centralize user identities in a government-controlled database, allowing authorities to track which user fronts which online account, even if platforms only see the anonymized token. 

This approach applies nation-state censorship in a more individualized way and introduces the possibility that content may be filtered or platforms blocked for certain users, both within China, where the government manages internet access, and potentially on a broader scale. 

It could allow the Chinese government to use filters and blocking mechanisms within a platform to limit access to certain services associated with a personalized digital ID for specific individuals.

While the legislation claims to be voluntary at launch, many fear that adoption could gradually become mandatory. In China’s regulatory environment, the “voluntary” label has frequently functioned as a transitional stage before compulsory enforcement. 

Authorities have encouraged social media giants, e-commerce platforms and even payment providers to begin integrating the Internet ID into their user authentication flows. If access to essential digital services becomes dependent on possession of this ID, individuals may find their ability to function online is effectively contingent upon submitting their biometric and personal data to the state.

This law is just the next step in China’s desire for digital authoritarianism, enhancing the government’s ability to surveil, monitor, shape and control a population down to the individual citizen level. 

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New York Wants Online Digital ID Rules for Social Media Feeds Under “SAFE For Kids Act”

New York is advancing a set of proposed regulations that would require social media platforms to verify users’ ages before granting access to algorithm-driven feeds or allowing nighttime alerts.

Attorney General Letitia James introduced the draft rules on Monday, tied to the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act, which was signed into law last year by Governor Kathy Hochul.

Presented as part of an effort to reduce mental health harms linked to social media, the law would compel platforms to restrict algorithmic content for anyone under 18 or anyone who hasn’t completed an age verification process, which would mean the introduction of digital ID checks to access online platforms.

In those cases, users would be limited to seeing content in chronological order from accounts they already follow.

Platforms would also be barred from sending notifications between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. to those users.

The rules give companies some flexibility in how they confirm a user’s age, as long as the method is considered effective and designed to protect personal data.

Acceptable alternatives to submitting a government ID include facial analysis that estimates age. Any identifying information collected during verification must be deleted “immediately,” according to the proposal.

For minors to access personalized algorithmic feeds, parental permission would be required.

That too involves a verification step, with the same data-deletion requirements in place once the process is complete.

The SAFE For Kids Act targets platforms where user-generated content is central and where at least 20 percent of time spent involves engagement with feeds tailored to user behavior or device data.

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