The compulsory nature of the scheme is of primary concern as the notion of liberty is the freedom to choose when and where we disclose private information about ourselves. Of the other nations that have identity card schemes some do not have compulsory schemes and many do not have the capabilities of the proposed British scheme.
The computerised database of citizens with personal information tied to biometric data is also of concern. There is a fear that this is just one step towards the world of Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell in which citizens were categorized, numbered and controlled by a totalitarian regime. Nineteen Eighty-Four was a work of fiction but there are real historical precedents also such as the Nazi policy of tattooing KZ numbers on Jews during the holocaust.
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