{"id":15798,"date":"2025-09-30T09:28:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T16:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/?p=15798"},"modified":"2025-10-01T07:44:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T14:44:34","slug":"as-predicted-the-uk-is-implementing-digital-id-but-its-worse-and-faster-than-anticipated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/2025\/09\/30\/as-predicted-the-uk-is-implementing-digital-id-but-its-worse-and-faster-than-anticipated\/","title":{"rendered":"As predicted the UK is implementing Digital ID, but it’s worse and faster than anticipated."},"content":{"rendered":"

A while back I wrote a couple of pieces about digital IDs. The most recent is linked Here <\/strong><\/em><\/a>. An older one is linked Here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"LogoYesterday I ran across articles about the UK rolling out compulsory digital ID, and another article about the EU beginning a digital ID program for visitors to EU countries. There\u2019s another article about a Swiss version, I stumbled across this morning.<\/p>\n

I also noted that North Dakota added their digital drivers license to the Apple Wallet, (but they\u2019re charging their residents a fee for the privilege).<\/p>\n

The EU digital ID program is starting mid October. This system requires visitors to supply fingerprints, and submit to a facial scan for entry to EU countries. The claim is that they\u2019ll be able to do away with passport stamps and better be able to identify people who overstay their visas. They also claim that fingerprints and facial scans will only be maintained for 3 years.<\/p>\n

Meaning, if you only visit one of these countries and never go back to any other EU country, 3 years after your visit they\u2019ll purge the record. I personally think they\u2019ll never purge those records. 3 years is a long time and I\u2019m positive that additional laws will be enacted that make those records permanent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After all, the UK & EU have both been pushing for backdoors into private phone data for everyone on the planet. There\u2019s every reason to believe they\u2019re trying to, and will succeed in building some kind of database of not only their own citizens, but also any visiting tourists.<\/p>\n

One article suggested that if a tourist for example refused to provide this biometric data, they\u2019d be denied entry to the country requesting the information.<\/p>\n

Hey, a country is entitled to maintain control over their national borders. (Unless the country\u2019s name is the United States, ahem.)<\/p>\n

As a tourist, I don\u2019t necessarily want to provide biometric data, so I guess any ideas I had about visiting Europe are toast once this system is fully implemented.<\/p>\n

My passport chip contains biometrics as well and honestly, I\u2019m not thrilled about that either. The difference is that I have control over my passport and who sees it. Once that chip is scanned though, my data is subject to being uploaded to whatever database a requester sees fit.<\/p>\n

Fundamentally, and in a perfect world where governments could be trusted I\u2019m good with providing this kind of information. The problem is, we don\u2019t live in a perfect world, and no government can be trusted.<\/p>\n

I go into it in some detail in the posts I referenced at the top of this post.<\/p>\n

In fact I\u2019d already decided if I ever went to Europe that I\u2019d leave all technology stateside. My reasoning, before the UK & EU mandates was that I didn\u2019t want to risk being detained anywhere for an offensive meme, or a comment that was deemed \u201cHate speech\u201d that might be on my phone.<\/p>\n

I figured if I didn\u2019t carry any tech, other than my Nikon, and refused to provide any email addresses there\u2019s be no way I could post something someone didn\u2019t like. Without access to my online accounts, the authorities in whatever country would have no way to review my online activity to determine if I passed their purity tests.<\/p>\n

Yes, I used the term “Purity Test” with intention. That term hearkens back to Nazi Germany, Communism, and even the old \u201cOne Drop Rules\u201d of the white supremacists in the Old South.<\/p>\n

The primary difference today isn\u2019t about skin color, or religion. It\u2019s about compliance and purity of thought. Does a particular individual represent a threat to group think? Is that person\u2019s presence likely to cause a disruption in thought amongst our subjects? Will this person raise or ask difficult questions?<\/p>\n

Honestly, that\u2019s what I think these mandates are about. It\u2019s not just being identified, or verifying that someone is overstaying their visa or has government authorization to work.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about linking an individual to their social media, which is a way to get inside their head, then limiting their privileges within the society based on how compliant a person is. Just as China is doing today.<\/p>\n

This is authoritarianism. The UK and EU are running headlong into the abyss.<\/p>\n

I naively thought that traveling without technology would provide some level of privacy. I no longer think that is sufficient.<\/p>\n

The UK has famously blocked speakers from other countries one of whom is a gentleman who after much study is very critical of Islam. The first time they blocked him from entering the UK they waited until he\u2019d made the flight to the UK. They knew they were going to ban him, but chose to cost him money by making the flight, then charging him for accommodation under guard until he could pay the extra fees to take an early flight back to the US.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s reasonable to ask when will the UK start scouring average people\u2019s social media accounts as a condition of entry.<\/p>\n

The UK is, I think a petrie dish of sorts for the EU. Yes, they\u2019ve supposedly broken away from the EU, but they\u2019re still headed away from freedom and into authoritarianism.<\/p>\n

When you think about it, the UK is a perfect testing ground. They\u2019re small, easily contained via blockade, disarmed, have a liberal population, and are steeped in white guilt.<\/p>\n

Those factors mean that experimentation about how much a population will take before they revolt is relatively safe. If crushing authoritarian control results in civil war it\u2019s no big deal. The EU can call in the UN for \u201cHumanitarian reasons\u201d and put down any rebellion.<\/p>\n

Think that\u2019s utter bullshit? Then why are some units of the London police force wearing UN blue uniforms? Why are common rights within the UK being abridged? Why are teenagers and adults being fined or arrested for social media posts? Why is it apparently illegal to fly traditional UK flags?<\/p>\n

I think the powers that be behind the EU are still pulling the UK government\u2019s strings and that it\u2019s likely what\u2019s happening in the UK is an experiment that\u2019s reaching its end.<\/p>\n

Which means the EU is going to implement all the things that people in the UK allowed with a minimum amount of grumbling in all their member nations.<\/p>\n

It also means that I\u2019m not going to see Europe in my lifetime. I\u2019m probably never going on a dive trip outside the United States territorial waters again. Cura\u00e7ao and Bon Aire for example are part of The Netherlands, they fall under EU law. Although, their restaurants, bars, and hotels prefer any currency other than Euros.<\/p>\n

It would be easy to say to myself, \u201cWell, I\u2019m only a tourist and this biometric data they\u2019re asking for is nothing to worry about.\u201d That is probably a true statement and as an average person 100% correct for now.<\/p>\n

But how long before AI can scan everything I\u2019ve ever posted, find a \u201ccrime<\/em>\u201d in any particular country I\u2019m visiting & arrest me? I\u2019ve been critical of Islam, I\u2019ve been critical of the UK, the US, the transgender movement, some of my opinions could be considered radical, hurtful, or I could be deemed an \u201cagitator”.<\/p>\n

While those comments may be legal in my home country (at the moment), they may be considered illegal in other countries and all countries have different statutes of limitations on such things.<\/p>\n

If authoritarian governments have biometric data, linked to my digital ID, and via my digital ID they link things I\u2019ve said, even in anger, on social media… Then any of it can be used to legally detain me, fine me, or imprison me.<\/p>\n

Much as I like the idea<\/em> of digital ID\u2019s I think I\u2019m going to so my best not to use them and I\u2019ll see what I can do about deleting my digital ID footprint.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about engaging in criminal activity, It\u2019s about denying those who would control me the opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a plus, I don\u2019t have to pay the US government for my passport every 10 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A while back I wrote a couple of pieces about digital IDs. The most recent is linked Here . An older one is linked Here.\u00a0 Yesterday I ran across articles about the UK rolling out compulsory digital ID, and another article about the EU beginning a digital ID program for visitors to EU countries. There\u2019s … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “As predicted the UK is implementing Digital ID, but it’s worse and faster than anticipated.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10,9],"tags":[177,173,174],"class_list":["post-15798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-modern-problems","category-technology","tag-general","tag-modern-problems","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15798"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15800,"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15798\/revisions\/15800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}