Lewis


 * __ID CARDS__**
 * __For and against__**


 * __FOR:__**

· Someone can be identified in a bank or at national borders without a passport, making the identity card as a passport. · Identity cards can be used to quickly verify ownership or eligibility to services; for example, a shopkeeper or cashier may request that an ID document be shown by a client paying with a credit card. · False identification may be reduced in countries where identity cards are required to open a bank account.

· Cards with centralized database could be used to track anyone's movements and private life, thus endangering privacy. The proposed British ID card will involve a series of linked databases, to be managed by the private sector. Managing disparate linked systems using a range of institutions and any number of personnel is alleged to be a security disaster in the making. · Government claims that identity cards will prevent crimes may not be based in fact. However, the facts that the terrorists involved in 9/11 and the London tube attacks did have and would have had identity cards, respectively. As a strong presumption of identity is given in favour of a card holder, the identity card scheme might be an asset to potential terrorists · In many cases, other forms of documentation such as a driver's license, passport, or Medicare card serve a similar function on a more limited scale, and therefore a ID card is not needed.
 * __AGAINST:__**