Big Data Meets Big Brother: Digital ID Is Here

*privacy sold separately

Remember when “equity and inclusion” meant you brought a Valentine for every kid in the class—even the jerk who poked you (on purpose!) with his compass the week before? Well, now it apparently means living in a kind of state-sponsored system Orwell didn’t even have the imagination to dream up—and it’s rolling out all over the world.

True story: I found this in an image search when I was verifying that I indeed had the right one. (Glad I’m not the only one.)

There’s endless yammering about how digital ID “closes the identification gap” (something about rural grandmas who can’t get to the DMV) and “speeds access to benefits” (as would making government forms shorter and less complicated than an Ayn Rand novel, for example), but here’s the real deal: It’s equitable because every global citizen, without exception, is going to be forced into it. See? So inclusive! And ironically, if you resist, you’ll be excluded from little societal benefits like enjoying utilities and collecting a paycheck.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has officially announced that the government will make Digital ID mandatory for the right to work by the end of this parliament—which is 2029. (Just in time for Agenda 2030! How convenient!)

You read that correctly. In Westminster, if you don’t give the government unfettered access to your eyeballs, hand over your fingerprints, agree to share your location at all times, trade your name for a barcode, and forsake every last speck of your privacy, you won’t be able to work. Which might sound heavenly—until you realize it means you can’t earn a living, which means you can’t feed your family, which means you basically can’t exist.

It’s okay, though, because it’s for Britons’ own good. You see, the country apparently has a tiny illegal immigration problem, and obviously this is the only way to make sure that law-abiding citizens alone are collecting a paycheck. (I mean, I guess they could make analog ID harder to counterfeit. But that seems awfully excessive, because then they’d have to design a complicated hologram sticker or something. Much better to just microchip the population and be done with it.)

The great news is, the UK’s digital ID is one hundred percent free of charge. Starmer made a point of adding that part to his rather angry announcement. (I should hope so! I mean, I’ve never heard of anyone making people pay for their own handcuffs. That would just be rude.)

“Let me spell that out,” barked Starmer. “You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID. It’s as simple as that. Because decent, pragmatic, fair-minded people want us to tackle the problems that they see around them and of course the truth is we won’t solve our problems if we don’t also take on the root causes.”

You oppose? So you’re not decent, pragmatic, and fair-minded? Shame on you.

Today it’s for work; tomorrow it’s for a plate of chips in the pub. How many times do we have to play Boil the Frog before people wake up?

Miraculously, all five of Northern Ireland’s primary political parties have finally managed to agree on something: Starmer’s mandatory digital ID. They’re calling it everything from a “hacker’s dream” to a “pointless Britcard” that will do nothing to solve the immigration issue, and warning it’ll usher in a “pre-crime” state where you’re forever proving you exist—like two-factor authentication for buying a pint. And as of this writing, more than 1.6 million Brits have signed a petition opposing the introduction of the QR leash.

In Vietnam, where digital ID is already in full swing, the State Bank recently deactivated more than 86 million bank accounts as part of a national “data-cleansing” initiative. Literally—people woke up and had no access to their own money. The only way to get it back? Submit to the biometric verification requirements (fingerprint, facial recognition, DNA anal swab—just kidding but maybe not that far-fetched?), of course.

It’s all part of Project 06, the Vietnamese government’s grand plan to make sure every pho purchase, rickshaw ride, Cu Chi tunnel tour pass, and karaoke bar tab goes through a biometric checkpoint. By the year 2030. They call it modernization; sane people call it terrifying.

Except maybe Swedes.

Over in Sweden, folks are lining up (happily!) to have Digital IDs implanted under their skin. “We can buy snacks!” one guy chirps.

Swedes are notoriously chill.

And in China, Dig-ID has already morphed into a full-scale Social Credit System. (“It pushes you to become a better citizen!” insists one local whose social credit score was solid enough to earn a guest spot in the news piece. “Lots of cameras keep the safety,” another was apparently allowed to say.)

There, citizens do hours of unpaid work in exchange for benefits—which can swiftly be taken away if you litter or jaywalk or your neighbor rats on you for some other offense (which is encouraged with monthly minimums). The program is in beta now, with plans for a country-wide roll-out next year. Of course, the Chinese aren’t complaining. (Because they can’t. It would literally destroy their social credit scores.)

Here in the US, disorganized (thankfully!) officials are still struggling to implement Real ID, but if you live in India, UAE, Nigeria, or Estonia, you literally cannot do the basics—bank, work legally, rent a flat, or get healthcare—without a government-issued digital ID. In much of Europe and the Nordics, it’s technically “voluntary,” but in practice you’re locked out of society if you don’t have it.

Coming soon: Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the good old U.S. of A., where freedom means you get to choose which app will scan your face before you can board a plane.

I don’t think it’s an accident that we’ve been marinated in DEI slogans for the past few years. That was the warm-up act. Once you convince everyone that “inclusion” means mandatory training sessions and rainbow flags in every classroom, it’s not a big leap to suggest “equity” means no one can enjoy direct deposit unless everyone can enjoy direct deposit.

Haven’t we seen this before? Totalitarian control dressed up as compassion? (Mask up to protect granny! Get vaccinated for the folks who can’t! Skip Christmas if you love your family!) Digital IDs make it possible to staple a social-credit system onto your very life. Too many “problematic” posts online? Sorry, your bus pass doesn’t work today. Already met your red meat allowance for the quarter? Please enjoy these state-approved crickets for the next two months.

The answer is simple—but it’s not easy. Refuse to comply. Ditch your smartphone. Opt for paper everything. Cancel Amazon Prime. Get physical transit cards instead of using a digital wallet. Decline biometrics. Join a credit union and a co-op. Pay only with cash (and refuse to patronize places that don’t accept it.) Exit the system that wants to enslave you.

I mean, it would be hard, not gonna lie.

I know I have readers who think it can be done—and many who are already doing it. Share your thoughts/tips/terrorizing fears in the comments. (At least we have each other!) :)

Since we still live in a (mostly) free country, you can get this as a gift with your paid annual subscription or buy it here. Nifty, right?