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Open Protect the Right to Live Without a Digital ID

Created by Scott Lock
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I want a legal safeguard in all digital-ID laws that guarantees no one can be denied work, healthcare, banking, housing, or any other service for not having a government digital ID. Use must remain voluntary, and non-digital alternatives must always be available to prevent exclusion or pressure..

Without legal protections, a voluntary digital ID system could become coercive if access to services or participation in daily life depends on it. There is currently no explicit legal safeguard to prevent digital ID from being over-relied on by either public or private organisations. Digital ID systems can shape access not only to essential services but also wider participation in society. Legal protections could ensure that people can choose without facing disadvantage or indirect compulsion.

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  • Government responded to this petition

    The Government is introducing a Digital ID system and will legislate for it to be voluntary, and free to access for anyone who wants it. The Government is consulting on the design of that scheme.

    Read the response in full

    The Government has announced that it will offer a new national Digital ID system, free to access for anyone who wants it by the end of the Parliament. The use of Digital ID will be optional and there are no plans to change that.

    On 10 March we launched a comprehensive consultation about the design of the Digital ID scheme, which will be open until 5 May. The consultation asks about how we can make the Digital ID a secure, convenient way for people to prove who they are. This will help the government reduce bureaucracy and build the intuitive, efficient, and responsive public services the UK deserves.

    Following the consultation we will lead a national conversation about how Digital ID and digital tools can be used to make public services work better for you and to support innovation. The digitisation of government services by some estimates could save up to billions of pounds a year. Supermarkets, banks, retail companies have all chosen to move their services online to a greater degree because they believe it delivers better customer experience, and also because it provides better value for money.

    More digital public services will also make them more efficient - because the status quo is expensive. There are costs of processing lots of paper forms, lots of manual payment systems, lots of duplication - every time you have to repeat your story to a different part of the state that’s a second, third or fourth cost to the taxpayer. The numbers across government are huge - the DVLA currently processes 45,000 letters a day, Defra uses 500 different paper forms, HMRC handles 100,000 phone calls a day.

    We want you to help us build this, and we want people from all walks of life and from every part of the country to be involved. We want to hear from people about where we can make their lives easier and how we should design a Digital ID which works for them. The consultation on the national digital ID is open until 5 May, and you can complete it at

    http://gov.uk/digital-id-consultation.

    As we build the new Digital ID system, we are doing it based on three principles:
    1. It must be useful: It needs to be easier than the old telephone and paper-based system.
    2. It must be secure: It will use the latest security technology, like that used by your bank, will keep your data safer than traditional paper documents – all stored safely on your device, for you to use if you want.

    3. It must be for everyone: We won’t leave people behind and will help you if you struggle with technology or can’t prove who you are with a passport, for example.

    It will also make everyday interactions easier; from collecting a parcel to going to the cinema. You’ll be able to use your digital proof of identity across the wider economy - including for Right to Work checks. Digital Right to Work checks will be required by the end of the Parliament, tightening up a system that currently allows use of a variety of paper-based documents.

    Robust digital checks will help challenge the perception amongst irregular migrants that it is possible to access work, services and benefits in the UK without lawful status. Anyone starting a new job will be able to use the new digital proof of identity for these right to work checks - or do a digital check of other documents such as your passport or eVisa if you prefer.

    Cabinet Office

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    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 2 July 2026.