When you are interacting with the government for official business, what purpose is there to hide one's identity? You can't exactly not fill in your name in your tax return.
For the non-government/private business however, it is indeed a matter of privacy. France rolled out a while ago the requirement to establish the user's age when accessing porn sites. I refuse to do that.
Who said anything about hiding anything? If they summon me to show up somewhere or if there's a legitimate reason for interaction with the government I'll show up at some local place, show my ID and I'm done with it.
I'm just not gonna hand them even more tools of control.
I'm not hiding it. It's on a plastic card that I paid the government to print for me. I'm happy to let them see that anytime they ask in relation to official business or legal concerns.
I do not want this ID to be digital, attached to any devices, or available for inspection outside of my control at any point in time.
> You can't exactly not fill in your name in your tax return.
I just sign them with ink. The same I do with any other contract or agreement. Surprisingly those contracts are just as valid as the tax bill I receive every year and yet no digital anything was ever involved with them. They're fully analog and yet fully enforceable by law.
> France rolled out a while ago the requirement to establish the user's age when accessing porn sites.
If you give them an inch they will take a mile, or perhaps, if you give them a centimeter they will take a kilometer. I couldn't care less if the government is somehow inconvenienced by analog privacy. I do not perceive any personal benefits from having my ID be "digital."
I don't care much about government services. The less I deal with them, the better. I can file my stupid taxes using some certificate that was sent to me by mail, that's enough for me.
What else would the government have to offer? If I move I'll show up at some local entity, get my passport updated and I'll never think about it again until next time I move.
Taxes, health insurance, medical records, updating business registrations, pension, pharmacies, university programs, mijnoverheid (the like government message box where you get digital copies of any mail that would be sent to you)
I knew a fellow with the same idea about government id of any form. No driver's license, no social security card, no state id.
To say the least, he made some pretty serious compromises in life. He was a tattoo artist with no shop and effectively homeless when I knew him, if you were curious.
For the non-government/private business however, it is indeed a matter of privacy. France rolled out a while ago the requirement to establish the user's age when accessing porn sites. I refuse to do that.