WHAT WE STAND FOR

NO2ID is a campaigning organisation. We are a single-issue group focussed on the threat to liberty and privacy posed by the rapid growth of the database state, of which "ID cards" are the most visible part. We are entirely independent. We do not endorse any party, nor campaign on any other topic.

We aim to publicise the case against state identity management among the general public, in the media, and at every level in government. NO2ID's members are from all sorts of backgrounds and hold all sorts of opinions on other questions. They almost certainly include people much like you. Please support us.

NO2ID comment:

WHILE THE CAT'S AWAY...

Parliament is on holiday. No doubt to the relief of the officials driving forward the database state. With the politicians out of the way, a cadre of Home Office and Cabinet Office cronies is free to extend the tentacles of Whitehall.

This August, long term plans to monitor your movements and communications have moved on significantly. Your travel information, your phone and text records, your e-mail and internet usage are set to be monitored. Your personal details trafficked ever more widely among officials and to foreign powers.

The Home Secretary has been hyping "biometrics" at Manchester airport - a trial of 'facial recognition'. But in reality it is just an excuse to get your passport electronically scanned. "e-Borders" is about collecting massive amounts of detailed information on every traveller's journey for official use. The spin is all about 'foreigners' but the system applies with even greater force to UK citizens.

The spectre of road-pricing through a 'spy in the sky' technology has also reappeared. Following everyone everywhere is the government's way of dealing with road problems.

And if you stay at home, you are to be watched there, too. Many people have been shocked to discover that Local Authorities have spy powers. But for years now hundreds of bodies have been able to authorise themselves to examine any of your phone, e-mail, text and web-browsing histories that have been held by phone and internet companies. Now there are determined efforts to make that easier. The Home Office is seeking to build a massive database of all communications data. Massive funding is already secretly committed.

What could be done with such powers? Who would you trust with them? Whatever the purpose, it is certain that the very private information involved will be lost or fall into untrustworthy hands.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 'ID CARDS'

There's a lot of confusion about the government's proposed national identity scheme, and it doesn't help that the Home Office often gives misleading information.

Our summary of the scheme is here.

Answers to selected Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are here.

The 'database state' is what we call the tendency to try to use computers to manage society by watching people. There are many interlocking government plans that do this. Together they mean officials poking into your private life more than ever before.

The list of database state initiatives on which NO2ID is campaigning, along with a wide range of other organisations is here.

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