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Comment by billyjobob | Hacker News Reader

The fact that the UK doesn’t allow “impromptu checks”, otherwise known as “Papers please!” is not a bug, it’s a feature that distinguishes our democracy from other states and we are pretty proud of it.

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There is nothing undemocratic about checking whether you are compliant with employment regulations on a regular manner anymore than it is to check whether your gas installation is compliant with gas regulations or your voting registration is compliant with voting policy. It is completely orthogonal. You might not be in favour of a policy but that does not mean that the policy is undemocratic.

That unfortunately can, and will change.

In times of war, civil liberties get curtailed. And in 2025 when Russian and Chinese bots are interfering in our democracy at an industrial scale to destroy our countries from within, the idea of identity being overlooked for all aspects of public life is looking increasingly untenable.

Do you believe these russian and chinese bots are walking the streets, where an 'impromptu check' by a policeman would stop them?

Or are you saying this electronic ID card will be linked to people's twitter accounts, to better police speech online?

Sorry but my own corrupt politicians and ruling business class are doing far more damage to my country than Russian ad Chinese bots.

Cheap scare tactics

And in a situation where that is warranted (e.g. a traffic violation), you should probably have some form of proof of identification on you anyway

Not required by law in the UK to have ID on you while driving. Works well enough (you have to produce it at a station within 7 days). I'm sure if it's serious enough, the police can force some other method

In the UK you do not have to have your drivers license upon your person when driving a car. Usually you'll be instructed to present it to a nearby police station within a few days.

In the UK all cars have number plates front and rear, so that's covered already.

That gives the car's identity though, not the driver's identity

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