[fakedang]

National IDs are always a bad idea. To give an example, when India ("world's largest democracy") decided to roll out a national ID, they touted it as a harmless and useful tool. Recently, when New Delhi erupted in violent riots, guess what was used to target and arrest the protesters, predominantly of the minority community?

[mc32]

At this point in technology, IDs and their information are a much smaller threat than the vast information trove collected on line and from cellular devices.

It’s like complaining about plastic straws but ignore the issue of nets from fishing operations. One has a better attack surface for activists but in reality the problem lay elsewhere.

[fakedang]

The difference is in the number of obstacles involved. The local police force would have to go through some hoops to track your devices and online activity. On the other hand, a national database would give them every information about you at the clock of a mouse - no expertise required.

Of course, the former will be an issue regardless, especially when it involves state level or national level police forces pursuing some overarching motive. But the latter can be used by the local yokels masquerading in uniform. Imagine if a policeman had some beef with you on a personal level and was able to access all your information, including your name, Date of Birth, Addresses present and past, and your family information. Because that latter bit of information was what was used to pursue most of the activists and protesters in the Indian example.