Study shows ID concerns

19 March 2006

Open University survey finds many public concerns over government plans

Proposals for compulsory ID cards in the UK have received another blow after a survey revealed public concerns over the plans.

The Open University study, which will be published in the August edition of the Journal of Information Science, questioned 1,143 people about a number of possible ID card deployment scenarios.

Home Office plans for compulsory cards and a central database sparked the highest levels of opposition, while alternative suggestions for voluntary registration and a distributed database raised fewer public concerns.

Adam Joinson, senior lecturer at the Open University, pointed out that the combination of compulsory cards with a central register caused the public to express fears about the central register for the first time. Until this survey, concerns about a central database have usually been raised by IT professionals, rather than members of the general public, Joinson added.

If opponents of compulsory cards win, it could undermine some firms' efforts to use the technology to tackle fraud, by leaving potential loopholes for fraudsters.

Companies will also have to assess customers' attitudes when deploying ID card readers, Joinson warned. "There are people talking about boycotting firms that demand ID cards," he said. "We will see a situation where companies will want to wait and see what happens to those that go first."