Britain’s Big Brother-in-waiting? How you could soon have a cradle-to-grave digital number

While a tiny country, the digital scheme has transformed Estonia into a technological powerhouse, the ID card being the most highly-developed such system in the world.

A chip on each citizen’s card embeds multiple files, protecting the information within these files with a key encryption. It can be used as a definitive proof of ID for all manner of things, including digital signatures, I-Voting, to check medical records, submit tax claims, and even pick up and be allocated prescription medicines.

The country estimates that it has saved each individual around five days a year in form-filling, phone queuing, and council visiting.

Not only has it positively saved people time, but it’s also saved the Estonian government a pretty penny — around two percent of annual GDP.

In theory, this money can then be pumped back into the public sector, on things like healthcare, domestic infrastructure, public transport. The Estonian government might even invest it into a welfare system. The digital ID cuts bureaucracy, saves time and gives citizens more bang for their buck.

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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1741147/digital-ids-personal-data-britain-services-spt