Identity document

An identity document (also known as I.D. or ID) is a piece of documentation designed to prove the identity of the person carrying it. Unlike other forms of documentation, which only have a single purpose such as authorizing bank transfers or proving membership of a library, an identity document simply asserts the bearer's identity. If an identity document is in the form of a small standard-sized card, such as an ISO 7810 card, it is called an identity card.

Identity cards are a source of continued debate. Their use is backed by law enforcement officials who claim that it can make surveillance and identification of criminals much easier. However, concern is also expressed the extensive cost and potential abuse of hi-tech smartcards.

Types of identity cards

Modern identity cards bear little resemblance to the original "photograph on piece of cardboard" and are often hi-tech smartcards which can be read by computer.

Where the identity card is issued by a state, it asserts a unique single civil identity for a person, thus defining that person's identity purely in relation to the state. New technologies allow identity cards to contain biometric information, such as photographs, face, hand or iris measurements, or fingerprints.

Other information typically present on the cards — or on the supporting database — includes full name, parents' names, address, profession, nationality in multinational states, and blood type.

Legal impact

Laws usually limit who is authorized to require an identification (for example limiting it to police, immigration officers etc), though practice usually broadens the range to many public and private entities: for example, a shopkeeper or cashier may request an ID document to be shown by a client paying with a credit card or cheque. Similarly, in circumstances where law enforcement can legally ask for identification, not being able to show an ID document, though legal, may result in being taken to a police station for further identification, depending on the jurisdiction.

In many cases, other forms of documentation such as a driver's license, passport, or Medicare card serve a similar function, identifying the bearer in a variety of contexts. However, possession of these documents is typically optional from a legal point of view.

Not carrying a required identity card can be beneficial for people who wish to avoid detection. It may also help in some illegal dealings; for instance, in certain countries, the procedures for deporting illegal immigrants whose age, identity or nationality cannot be formally established are more complex than those for whom they can be readily asserted, giving the illegal immigrant more time to prepare his or her defense, and in some cases (in Spain, for instance) may prevent the immigrant's deportation altogether.

Arguments for and against identity cards

Arguments about identity cards is largely limited to Anglo-Saxonic common-law countries. In most countries where an ID system is present, it is seen as a commonplace item that that is not unusual. In the United Kingdom and the United States especially, state-issued compulsory identity cards are a source of great controversy as they are regarded an infringement of privacy and civil liberties.

Most criticism is directed towards possibilities of extensive abuse of identity documents; central databases with storage of sensitive data. Such systems have been proposed in some countries, including the UK.

Arguments in favour

Supporters argue that:

identity cards would be a useful administrative tool that will increase efficiency in dealings with both the government and private companies.
ID cards allow to cut down on crime. All banks require ID cards when dealing with them, which increases security. Also, some auction companies require them if users wish to sell.
proponents argue that identity cards are no problem unless you have "something to hide"; opponents counter that by noting that there is a crucial difference between hiding criminality and respecting privacy.
in states that don't issue identity cards, private companies require equivalent documents, such as a driver license, which are not properly suited for identity purposes.
crimes such as identity theft may be reduced in countries where identity cards are required to open a bank account. Of course, phishing and many other forms of identity theft will be unaffected.
law enforcers can discover people who suffer from diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, where the patient doesn't know his or her name and/or address, or dissociative identity disorder (e.g. Billy Milligan) when they found patients who claim names that are not consistent with the names on their identity cards.
All humans already carry unfalsifiable personal identificaton, which cannot even be discarded. It is their DNA. In lieu of ID cards, use of DNA sequencing hashes may soon become the preferred method used for personal identification, even in cases when interacting with private economic entities. Arguably the use of ID cards is a "lesser evil" compared to the potentially gross privacy risks associated with daily use of DNA indentity.

Arguments against

Opponents argue

that identity cards will impose a disproportionate burden upon citizens while empowering the executive which is contrary to the maxim: "the government that governs best, governs least". Some have pointed out that extensive lobbying for identity cards has been undertaken, in countries without compulsory identity cards, by IT companies who will be likely to reap rich benefits in the event of an identity card scheme being implemented.

they could be used to track anyone's movements and private life, thus endangering one's privacy. The proposed British ID card (see next section) will involve a series of linked databases, to be managed by the private sector. Managing disparate linked systems with a range of institutions and any number of personnel having access to them is a potential security disaster in the making.^*

A requirement to carry an identity card at all times can lead to the inconvenience of arbitrary requests from card controllers (such as the police). This can lead to functionality creep whereby carrying a card becomes de facto if not de jure compulsory, as with the Social Security number, which is now widely used as ID. That is, everyone carries their card around anyway because shops and services may demand proof by way of cards, even though such an obligation is not required by law. It could be used as a way to harrass minority groups.

Government claims' that identity cards will prevent terrorism have been incrementally eroded by critics. The former UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke conceded that identity cards may only be useful in the identification of bodies in the aftermath of a terrorist outrage. Critics rely on the facts that the terrorists involved in 9/11 and the London tube attacks did have and would have had identity card respectively. As such a strong presumption of identity is given in favour of a card holder, the identity card scheme may be an asset to potential terrorists.

totalitarian governments, which issued identity cards to their populations use them oppressively. E.G. the issuing of unique biometric identities was used when Nazis (see Godwin's Law) tattooed unique concentration-camp detainees numbers on the arms of people taken to be processed by the Final Solution.

More recently, the apartheid-era government of South Africa used pass books as internal passports to oppress that country's black population.

Identity cards worldwide

Countries with compulsory identity cards

According to Privacy International, as of 1996, around 100 countries had compulsory identity cards. They also stated that "virtually no common law country has a card".

The term "compulsory" may have different meanings and implications in different countries. The compulsory character may apply only after a certain age. Often, a ticket can be given for being found without one's identification document, or in some cases a person may even be detained until the identity is ascertained. In practice, random controls are rare, except in police states.

Countries with non-compulsory identity cards

A number of countries have non-compulsory identity card schemes. These include Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Sweden and Switzerland.

France

In France, it is forbidden to walk around without one's ID, a remnant of the anti-vagabond laws which were voted during the 19th century to fix in some location workers).

The country has had a national ID card since 1940, when it helped the Vichy authorities identify 76,000 for deportation as part of the Holocaust. Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben often underlines this, showing how anthropometry may be used by the state.

In the past, identity cards were compulsory, had to be updated each year in case of change of residence and were valid for 10 years, and their renewal required paying a fee. In addition to the face photograph, the card included the family name, first names, date and place of birth, and the national identity number managed by the national INSEE registry, and which is also used as the national service registration number, as the Social Security account number for health and retirement benefits, for access to court files and for tax purposes.

Later, the laws were changed so that any official and certified document (even if expired and possibly unusable abroad) with a photograph and a name on it, issued by a public administration or enterprise (such as a railroad transportation card, a student card, a driving licence or a passport) can be used to prove one's identity. Also, law enforcement (police, gendarmerie) can now accept photocopies of these documents when performing identity checks, provided that the original document is presented within two weeks. For finacial transactions, any of these documents must be equally accepted as proof of identity.

The current identity cards are now issued free of charge, and non-compulsory. Legislation has been published for a proposed compulsory biometric card system, which has been widely criticised, among others by the "National commission for computing and liberties" (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés, CNIL), the national authority and regulator on computing systems and databases. Identity cards issued since 2004 include basic biometric information (a digitized fingerprint record, a printed digital photograph and a scanned signature) and various anti-fraud systems embedded within the plastic-covered card.

The next generation of the French green card, named "Carte Vitale", for the Social Security benefit (which already includes a chip and a magnetic stripe currently containing very little information) will include a digital photograph and other personal medical information in addition to identity elements. It may then become a substitute for the National Identity Card.

Countries which do not use Identity cards

A number of countries do not use identity cards to verify identity. These include Australia, Denmark, India, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States.

United Kingdom

There is no national identity card in the United Kingdom as of 2006, but there have been hotly debated plans to introduce them. A UK driver's licence or passport is used as proof of identity.

United States

There is no true national identity card in the United States of America, in the sense that there is no federal agency with nationwide jurisdiction that directly issues such cards to all American citizens. All legislative attempts to create one have not been realised due to opposition from libertarian and conservative politicians, who regard the national identity card as the mark of a totalitarian society. Driver's licenses issued by the various states (along with special cards issued to non-drivers) are often used as proof of identity and a national identification card is often required for boarding airline flights or entering office buildings. Recent (2005) federal legislation that tightened requirements for issuance of driver's licenses has been seen by both supporters and critics as bringing the United States much closer to a de facto national identity card system.

Note: As noted above, certain countries do not use national ID cards, but have other official documents that play the same role in practice (e.g. driver's license for the United States). While a country may not make it de jure compulsory to own or carry an identity document, it may be de facto strongly recommended to do so in order to facilitate certain procedures.

Other non-sovereign state ID cards

Some Basque nationalist organizations are issuing para-official identity cards (Euskal Nortasun Agiria) as a means to reject the nationality notions implied by Spanish and French compulsory documents. Then, they try to use the ENA instead of the official document.

For the people of Western Sahara, pre-1975 Spanish cards are the main proof that they were Saharaui citizens as opposed to recent Moroccan colonists. They would be thus allowed to vote in an eventual self-determination referendum.

Non-national identity cards

Some companies and government departments issue ID cards for security purposes; they may also be proof of a qualification. For example, all taxi drivers in the UK and Hong Kong carry ID cards. In Queensland, anyone working with children has to take a background check and get issued a Blue Card.

Electronic identity cards

Electronic identity cards or e-IDs are made available in some countries such as Belgium. Morocco is also planning to launch a new identity card of biometric type by January 2007. It is projected that by the year 2010, all Moroccans would carry the biometric card.

External links

Authentication methods | Law enforcement | Personal documents | Personal identification

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