- Nearly three million people signed a parliamentary petition against mandatory digital ID cards.
- Digital checks on the right to work remain mandatory under the new policy approach.
- The UK digital ID programme, expected around 2029, will be offered as optional alongside electronic alternatives.
The British government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has dropped plans to make a centralized digital identity mandatory for workers, backtracking on a proposal that would have changed the way workers prove their right to work.
Under the original plan, employees would have to use a government-issued digital ID, instead of relying on traditional documents such as passports.
The reversal follows months of criticism from politicians and civil liberties campaigners, as well as a large-scale public backlash questioning whether access to the labor market should be dependent on one centralized system.
Critics warn of risks in surveillance and data security
The mandatory digital ID proposal drew opposition from opponents across the political spectrum, including British MP Rupert Lowe and British reform leader Nigel Farage.
Civil rights groups and campaigners also raised concerns about how centralized identification could be used over time.
Opponents warned it could lead to an “Orwellian nightmare” by giving the state a stronger ability to control citizens.
Another major fear was that centralizing sensitive personal data could create a single ‘honeypot’ vulnerable to hacking and misuse.
Critics also pointed out the risk of mission crawlwhere a plan for employment checks could be gradually expanded to other areas, including housing, banking and voting.
The pressure on petitions is forcing a policy downturn
Public resistance to mandatory digital identity became visible through formal political channels.
Nearly three million people signed one parliamentary petition oppose digital ID cards, making the issue difficult for ministers to ignore.
Lowe celebrated the policy change in one video posted on Xand said he was out for “a very large drinks party to celebrate the demise of mandatory digital ID.”
Farage was also supportive reversed it, calling it “a victory for individual freedom against a horrific, authoritarian government.”
Digital checks on the right to work remain mandatory by the government
Despite dropping plans for a mandatory digital ID credential, officials say digital checks on the right to work remain mandatory.
This means that the government is still committed to keeping employment verification in a digital process, even though it is no longer built around a single government identity system.
When the UK’s digital ID program launches around 2029, it is now expected to be optional rather than mandatory.
Rather than this becoming the only approved route to proving employment eligibility, this will be offered alongside alternative electronic documentation.
The debates about the digital euro, EU identity and crypto privacy are returning
Britain’s partial rollback is also fueling wider debates over digital surveillance systems, including the central bank’s digital currency and the European Central Bank’s digital euro project.
In those discussions, civil society groups and some lawmakers have argued for strict privacy guarantees rather than systems that allow broad traceability.
At the same time, the European Union is moving forward with its own digital identity framework and digital Eurowork, while exploring privacy-protective designs.
One approach involves the use of zero-knowledge proofs, which allow citizens to prove attributes such as age or residency without revealing their entire personal information.
These designs connect to decentralized identity tools and privacy-preserving blockchain technologies, including zero-knowledge credentialing systems and privacy-enhancing smart contract structures.
The goal is to support compliance while minimizing the amount of personal data in one place.
Privacy-focused crypto tools also continue to be the focus, including privacy coins such as Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR), in addition to decentralized identity protocols.
Interest in these tools has continued as regulators increase scrutiny of DeFi and explore identity checks for self-hosted wallets.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s proposed DeFi ID framework, alongside renewed focus on privacy tokens, shows how policymakers are testing stronger anti-money laundering and know-your-customer controls on-chain, even as builders push alternative designs.
