Britain is gearing up for the age of the digital ID. While the government recently backtracked on plans to make digital ID mandatory for everyone working in the UK, the £1.8 billion scheme hasn’t gone away: planning is ongoing for a ‘voluntary’ programme to be rolled out by 2029, with a public consultation expected to take place this year.
The government claims that ‘digital identity systems can offer efficiency, fraud reduction and privacy protection’. But critics have warned that they come with significant risks, including data breaches, surveillance, user profiling and function creep (where a ‘voluntary’ digital ID becomes compulsory in more scenarios than expected). Any treasure trove of citizens’ sensitive data could also be vulnerable to being hacked and leaked, sold or shared with private companies and international agencies.
While the government promises ‘there will be no centralised digital ID database’ under the scheme, with digital ID details instead being stored on individual users’ phones, this means the onus will be on users to protect their digital IDs from being stolen or intercepted – and the best way to do this is by using a VPN, or virtual private network.
Founded in 2009, ExpressVPN is the world’s largest premium VPN provider. It employs the industry’s most advanced server technology, TrustedServer, to shield your personal information from prying eyes – whether that’s governments, your internet service provider or potential digital ID thieves – and Spectator readers can gain this protection for a 73 per cent discount.
VPNs work by creating a secure tunnel between your devices and the internet – preventing tracking and surveillance, preserving anonymity and enhancing safety, so that your personal details cannot be stolen. ExpressVPN uses the same encryption standard adopted by the US government, meaning that even if someone did manage to intercept your data, it would be unreadable.
So if you soon find yourself required to use a digital ID to access government services, healthcare or banking, ExpressVPN ensures no one would be able to steal your ID while it was being transmitted between your device and the intended recipient. This is even the case if you’re using public wifi, one of the greatest risks for digital identity theft. And it keeps your online activities private, too, preventing your internet service provider from seeing or analysing which public or ID services you’re accessing. Spectator readers can benefit from all of this for just $3.49 per month, plus four bonus months for free.
The concerns raised by the looming digital ID system are similar to those sparked by the introduction of the Online Safety Act in July last year, which required a range of websites to ask UK users to verify their age by handing over valuable personal data – without knowing who might see it or how securely it will be stored. ExpressVPN can also help here. By connecting to one of its ultra-fast servers in more than 100 countries outside the UK, you bypass the need to jump through the hoops of the Online Safety Act, all while keeping your data and browsing history private.
Readers of The Spectator can try ExpressVPN for just $3.49 per month – a discount of 73 per cent – plus four bonus months for free. For more information or to take advantage of the deal, click here.
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