ID Cards on Trial: silicon.com readers back the campaign

silicon.com readers are overwhelmingly backing our ID Cards on Trial campaign to challenge the government on the cost, shifting scope and unproven technology proposed for the UK's national ID card scheme.

The campaign already has the backing of cross-party politicians, academics and IT industry technical experts, and tomorrow morning on the site we'll be giving you more details on how you can take an active role in the campaign to put pressure on the government.

Now many silicon.com readers have come out in strong support of our campaign this week, also questioning the proposals currently put forward by the Home Office.

Ian Savell, a UK consultant, said: "The key issue here is scope creep. The gradual shift clearly indicates a solution looking for a problem. Problem is it isn't even a known solution. It is a huge waste of our money."

Karen Challinor, a company director, added: "How about having a single credible reason to justify the introduction of the ID card and its associated database. Apparently we didn't get frightened enough at the idea of countering terrorism, so now we are supposed to be scared about ID theft."

One of silicon.com's questions to the Home Office is a request to detail exactly how a biometric ID card will make any significant dent in the problem of ID theft and Charles Barrand, a reader from West Sussex, agreed. "In my experience, most identity theft occurs in situations where no ID card is ever likely to be involved. How will such a card prevent phishing or rummaging for sensitive information through household trash?" he asked.

silicon.com has also been appalled at the willingness of some IT companies to jump on the ID card bandwagon simply in the hope of getting a lucrative slice of a pie that could be worth anywhere between £5.8bn and £18bn depending on whose estimates you believe. This concern struck a chord with many of our readers who work in the IT industry.

A managing director from Cranfield said: "The searching questions put forward by silicon.com are the very same questions that should have been put forward by others in the IT sector. But then the potential pot of gold or at least a slice of it would look pretty darn good on the old bank balance."

Most readers also supported our call for the government to clarify the costing and justification for the ID card scheme and, where necessary, open it up to independent audit and review.

Nigel Perry, a tech developer from Bristol, said: "No matter by what route they choose to recover the cost of this folly that cost must ultimately be borne by the British public. The government must not be allowed to conceal the true cost. We must insist upon an independent audit of the estimates."