Are you worried about where whole digital ID push is actually heading?

Posted by Busternookiedude@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 181 comments

Every time I read the news there's another story about digital identity schemes, gov consultations, private sector trials, biometric this, verification that. And honestly? It's starting to feel a bit... orchestrated? Or is that just me being paranoid? Don't get me wrong, I understand the convenience argument. No more carrying a physical driving licence, faster identity checks, easier access to services, blah blah blah. But here's what's doing my head in like where does it actually stop? Today it's "optional verification for online services," tomorrow it's "you need to prove you're human to access the internet." That's not a massive leap, is it? And what threw me was stumbling across these iris-scanning stations popping up in cities across the UK - Manchester, London, Birmingham, you name it. Like it scans your eyeball, and boom - you've got biometric proof you're a real person. Now I haven't fully wrapped my head around this project yet, so genuine question - is this part of some coordinated plan by governments to slowly normalise digital ID and biometric surveillance? Or is it just a private tech company doing their own thing? Because the timing feels awfully convenient with all the gov digital ID talk, doesn't it? What bothers me is if once this stuff becomes mainstream, there's no going back (I think). Am I overthinking this or do others share these concerns? What's your take on the whole digital ID trajectory we're on?