£5 billion

[Biker Biggles]

Ah the Data Protection Act.Yes but something with teeth that actually protects ordinary citizens from having their privacy invaded.

[northwind]

There's no point introducing new laws when there's an old law that covers the same ground, but isn't adequately enforced. TBH the DPA shows the problems of these sorts of things perfectly- catching people out in breach is just incredibly difficult.

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

Face recognition is getting so good that within the decade we will have a human face equivalent of ANPR that will do the vast majority of "spotting" and people will only be required to detain/verify those the computer spots. At airports, you will be ID'd and security checked by camera as you wait in line to check in, in many cases passporting will be a 2 second formality rather than principle means of identification.

Face recognition technology is already good enough, given a good enough input image. That's the only thing that's stopping it rolling out commercially. The camera's that are good enough to feed into face recognition are damn expensive!!

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Quite so,but Im also suggesting that it becomes a criminal offense to obtain

Do you really think that will stop criminals performing ID theft? That'd only serve to make something that's already illegal, erm, illegal.

Whilst I'm on the subject of identity theft, I've heard on the grapevine that the further ID card schemes and RFID systems get, the greater the chance of a "geek" abusing the system then going to the papers with the information. Hopefully that should wake a few people up.

Originally Posted by northwind

Is anyone actualyl in favour of the ID cards at all? I mean, I'm against it as a point of principle as are many people, and also I'm against it because it's a bad standard, and also I'm against it because it's so absurdly overpriced. I get 3/3, but it seems like practically everyone in the country will notch up at least 1/3. Apart from people who think it'll stop terrorism I suppose.

Yeah but people are more interested in the results of X-Factor than the ramifications of a gigantic all powerful database. As the saying goes, all that's required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

Originally Posted by Baph

I've heard on the grapevine that the further ID card schemes and RFID systems get, the greater the chance of a "geek" abusing the system then going to the papers with the information. Hopefully that should wake a few people up.

What are the odds that it'll already be too late to stop it and/or we've already spent billions of pounds on it. It's already being forced on airport workers. Oh sorry, it's not being 'forced' on airport workers, they'll just lose their job if they don't comply, so that's ok then.

[Biker Biggles]

The other essential ingredient of my "cunning plan"would be the requirment to destroy information,thus preventing the temptation to just store it because it might be useful later.I would not just apply this to stuff held on computer either.

[northwind]

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

The other essential ingredient of my "cunning plan"would be the requirment to destroy information,thus preventing the temptation to just store it because it might be useful later.I would not just apply this to stuff held on computer either.

Like some sort of Data Protection Act?

"Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes."

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

What are the odds that it'll already be too late to stop it and/or we've already spent billions of pounds on it. It's already being forced on airport workers. Oh sorry, it's not being 'forced' on airport workers, they'll just lose their job if they don't comply, so that's ok then.

I reckon the timing/scale could be enough to stop RFID chips in particular being forced on the population as a whole.

Originally Posted by Baph

I reckon the timing/scale could be enough to stop RFID chips in particular being forced on the population as a whole.

Does that mean I can avoid having one lodged in my brain? Frau Smiths dream, no doubt.

[Biker Biggles]

"purpose" is not rigorously defined,so information can be kept too easily under the law.Otherwise how do so many cold callers know everything about us before we tell them?Clearly this stuff is readily available to large numbers of advertisers.

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

Does that mean I can avoid having one lodged in my brain? Frau Smiths dream, no doubt.

I think if RFID chips in the brain are about to become legislation, I'd go out of my way to demonstrate their ineffectiveness. Before that, I'll just disable the chip & let someone else get arrested.