Digital ID- your soul for convenience

Yesterday the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology released a video showing off their new digital identification system, set to be rolled out in the new year.

Titled "Merry Pint-Mas," the video begins with a young man entering a pub and being asked for ID after ordering a pint. He fumbles around in his wallet and proceeds to spill cards and cash all over the floor, at which point the video cuts away to an exposition of how a digital ID stored on your phone is more convenient, cooler, and will also somehow magically induce economic growth. Why wouldn't everyone want this digital panacea?

Following concerns raised on social media, the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (a more accurate acronym would be the department of surveillance, intrusion and trespass) were quick to stress that use of digital ID would be optional. Privacy advocates quickly dug a little deeper, and discovered that while it is presently optional for pubs, those that choose to use it are permitted to make it mandatory for their clientele. Great news for Big Brother, not such great news for the privacy-minded or those without a smartphone.

The situation becomes even more concerning when considered in the wider context of the government plans for digital surveillance. The Labour Party website openly and proudly boasts of plans for an all-encompassing digital ID, ostensibly to make our lives easier by accessing public services and proving our age all in one place.

The fact that a digital ID (coupled with the mass-rollout of facial recognition cameras) makes it infinitely easier for The State to track and monitor the individual's every move, is of course simply an abstract possibility that would never manifest itself in our healthy liberal democracy. Just as the prospect of being asked to verify your identity when using the internet was simply Orwellian fear mongering on behalf of the tin-foil hatted opponents of The Online "Safety" Bill. (From July 2025 browsing the internet anonymously essentially becomes a criminal act.)

So soon we will be flashing QR codes at the barman on a Friday night. Great, it will be easier for us to order a pint! Even more so when the queue is shorter because those who have had their government-mandated alcohol ration for the week are prevented from purchasing any more. Easier still when our faces are linked to our digital identities and we literally become walking, talking ID cards. Easiest once any semblance of individual anonymity and privacy is communally sacrificed on The State's shrine to convenience.

Merry Pint-Mas!