The UK Identity Cards Act is a framework of enabling legislation for a British National Identity card passed in 2006. The Act has not yet gone into full-scale development or deployment. The proposed ID cards will be linked to a database known as the National Identity Register (NIR).
The Identity Cards Act identifies 50 categories of data that the NIR may accommodate for each citizen covered therein, including:
- Fingerprints for all 10 fingers.
- Digitized facial and iris scans.
- Current and prior UK and overseas residence information.
- Indices into other UK Government databases.
The legislation also includes an open door policy for adding more information in the future as needed.
Individuals who renew an existing passport or apply for a new one must be entered into the NIR and there are plans for mandatory national ID to be implemented. A grassroots movement, known as NO2ID, has risen in opposition to these plans.
This was last updated in January 2008
Dig Deeper
-
Reaction to the European Commission data protection proposals has been largely negative, as many believe the new rules are costly and misdirected.
-
2012 security trends involving cookies, fines, devices and threats will demand more skills -- and a little finesse -- from security professionals.
-
Website owners have resisted compliance with cookie legislation so the ICO has issued more guidance and warnings to nudge them along.
-
People who read this also read...
-
Resources from around the Web